ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) based inflation for the week ended October 5, increased by 0.11 per cent due to an increase in the prices of food items, tomatoes (12.45 per cent), onions (11.96 per cent), garlic (2.59 per cent), potatoes (1.81 per cent), beef (0.53 per cent) and bread (0.52 per cent) and non-food item, LPG (3.11 per cent), firewood (0.76 per cent), and long cloth (0.51 per cent), says Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 37.07 per cent mainly due to an increase in the prices of electricity charges for q1 (118.16 per cent), gas charges for q1 (108.38 per cent), cigarettes (94.69 per cent), rice basmati broken (87.60 per cent), chilies powder (84.84 per cent), sugar (79.55 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (78.69 per cent), wheat flour (77.91 per cent), gur (67.68 per cent), tea Lipton (60.72 per cent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 per cent), salt powdered (56.48 per cent), garlic (54.78 per cent), gents sandal (53.37 per cent), petrol (43.70 per cent) and potatoes (42.99 per cent), while a decrease is observed in the prices of tomatoes (54.05 per cent), onions (18.21 per cent), pulse gram (2.67 per cent), and mustard oil (0.16 per cent).

The SPI for the week under review was recorded at 282 points against 281.77 points registered in the previous week, according to the PBS data released on Friday.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 19 (37.26 per cent) items increased, 16 (31.37 per cent) items decreased, and 16 (31.37 per cent) items remained stable.

The SPI for the consumption group up to Rs17,732, Rs17,732-Rs22,888, Rs22,889-Rs29,517 and Rs29,518-Rs44,175 consumption group increased by 0.49 per cent, 0.38 per cent, 0.27 per cent, 0.17 per cent, and declined by 0.03 per cent for the above Rs44,175 consumption group respectively.

The items, which recorded an increase in their average prices during the week over the previous include tomatoes (12.45 per cent), onions (11.96 per cent), LPG (3.11 per cent), garlic (2.59 per cent), potatoes (1.81 per cent), cooked daal (1.27 per cent), eggs (0.84 per cent), firewood whole 40 kg (0.76 per cent), beef with bone (0.53 per cent), bread plain (0.52 per cent), long cloth 57” Gul Ahmed/Al Karam(0.51 per cent), cooked beef (0.51 per cent), milk fresh (0.42 per cent), mutton (0.37 per cent), tea prepared (0.35 per cent), sugar refined (0.27 per cent), curd (0.20 per cent), powdered milk Nido390 gm polybag (0.04 per cent), and rice basmati broken (0.01 per cent).

The items, which recorded a decrease in their average prices during the week over the previous include hi-speed diesel (3.33 per cent), bananas (2.85 per cent), chicken (2.78 per cent), petrol super (2.40 per cent), masoor (1.80 per cent), pulse gram (1.73 per cent), gur (1.14 per cent), moong (0.58 per cent), maash (0.33 per cent), wheat flour bag 20 kg (0.32 per cent), mustard oil (0.31 per cent), rice irri-6/9 (0.22 per cent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality (0.20 per cent), cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (0.15 per cent), tea Lipton Yellow Label 190 gm packet each (0.15 per cent) and vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.09 per cent).

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023