ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended May 26, 2022, recorded a decrease of 0.26 percent mainly due to a decline in the prices of food items including wheat flour (12.25 percent), chillies powdered (6.48 percent), chicken (4.41 percent) and garlic (2.99 percent) and non-food item LPG (0.43 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

However, economists expect a significant increase in SPI and Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation after the latest increase in petroleum products.

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 16.97 percent mainly due to an increase in onions (184.91 percent), tomatoes (180.60 percent), LPG (92.33 percent), garlic (81.67 percent), mustard oil (66.66 percent), masoor (64.36 percent), cooking oil 5 litres (61.21 percent), vegetable ghee 1 Kg (60.65 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 Kg (60.21 percent), washing soap (42.28 percent), petrol (37.42 percent) and diesel (29.63 percent), while a major decrease observed in the prices of chillies powdered (43.42 percent), pulse moong (23.30 percent), bananas (19.86 percent), sugar (12.82 percent), potatoes (12.63 percent) and gur (0.89 percent) and electricity charges for Q1 (11.71 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went down from 175.08 percent during the week ended May 19, 2022, to 174.62 percent during the week under review.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs 17,732 and Rs 17,733 to Rs 22,888, Rs 22,889 to Rs 29,517 and Rs 29,518 to Rs 44,175 and for above Rs 44,175 decreased by 0.38 percent, 0.44 percent, 0.40 percent, 0.35 percent and 0.15 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 27 (52.94 percent) items increased, 05 (9.81 percent) items decreased and 19 (37.25 percent) items remained stable, says the PBS.

The items the prices of which increased included potatoes (8.43 percent), tomatoes (6.33 percent), eggs (6.29 percent), rice basmati broken (4.71 percent), mustard oil (4.16 percent), masoor (3.93 percent), milk fresh (3.47 percent), onions (3.03 percent), pulse gram (2.58 percent), curd (2.35 percent), Sufi washing soap (2.13 percent), cooked beef (1.55 percent), beef with bone (1.42 percent), pulse mash (1.33 percent), cooked daal (1.32 percent), mutton (1.30 percent), rice IRRI-6/9 (1.24 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (0.98 percent), sugar (0.83 percent), moong (0.67 percent), cooking oil Daldaor other similar brand (SN), 5-litre tin each (0.49 percent), powdered milk NIDO 390 gm polybag each (0.46 percent), bananas (0.34 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.25 percent) and gur (0.05 percent).

The items which registered a decrease in prices include wheat flour bag (12.25 percent), chilies powder National (6.48 percent), chicken (4.41 percent), garlic (2.99 percent) and LPG (0.43 percent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022