ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended February 24 recorded an increase of 0.51 percent due to increase in the prices of food items including chicken (14.46 percent), bananas (3.86 percent), tomatoes (3.63 percent), mustard oil (2.96 percent), and tea prepared (1.72 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 15.90 percent mainly due to increase in tomatoes (366.42 percent), LPG (57.12 percent), garlic (51.69 percent), mustard oil (50.74 percent), petrol (42.28 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (41.81 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (38.36 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (38.11 percent), washing soap (37.78 percent), masoor (36.94 percent), and diesel (32.26 percent), while major decrease observed in the prices of chillies powdered (36.30 percent), pulse moong (29.33 percent), sugar (5.36 percent), onions (4.04 percent), potatoes (3.71 percent), and eggs (0.61 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 169.61 percent during the week ended February 17, 2022 to 170.47 percent during the week under review.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,732 and Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, Rs22,889 to Rs29,517, Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 and for above Rs44,175 increased by 0.34 percent, 0.45 percent, 0.48 percent, 0.54 percent and 0.53 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 20 (39.22 percent) items increased, 11 (21.56 percent) items decreased and 20 (39.22 percent) items remained stable, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.

The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices included chicken (14.46 percent), bananas (3.86 percent), tomatoes (3.63 percent), mustard oil (2.96 percent), tea prepared (1.72 percent), energy saver (0.83 percent), tea Lipton Yellow Label (0.69 percent), cooked daal (0.53 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (0.52 percent), sugar (0.46 percent), beef with bone (0.30 percent), toilet soap (0.26 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.21 percent), mutton (0.14 percent), Sufi washing soap (0.11 percent), wheat flour bag (0.10 percent), long cloth 57” Gul Ahmed/Al Karam (0.08 percent), milk fresh (0.06 percent), curd (0.03 percent) and rice basmati broken (0.02 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022