ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Index (SPI)-based inflation for the week ended on October 29, 2026 recorded a reduction of 0.35 percent owing to a decline in the prices of electricity charges for Q1 by 3.92 percent, chicken by 2.95 percent, eggs by 2.81 percent, wheat flour by 0.83 percent and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) by 0.73 percent.
The SPI data released here on Friday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed that the prices of other items, which witnessed a reduction, included banana, which declined by 0.71 percent; rice IRRI-6/9 and pulse masoor by 0.43 percent each; petrol by 0.39 percent; sugar by 0.35 percent; and powdered milk by 0.33 percent.
According to PBS data, during the week under review, the prices of following household items witnessed an increase: Tomatoes down by 34.91 percent, potatoes by 3.27 percent, diesel by 2.53 percent, pulse gram by 2.11 percent, bread plain by 1.29 percent, onions by 0.62 percent, milk fresh by 0.48 percent, curd by 0.46 percent, vegetable ghee 2.5kg by 0.29 percent and firewood by 0.20 percent.
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During the week, of 51 items, the prices of 15 items, which constitute 29.41 percent of the SPI basket, recorded an increase; the prices of 12 items, or 23.53 percent of the basket, recorded a reduction; and the prices of 24 items, or 47.06 percent of the basket, remained stable.
The Year on Year (YoY) trend depicts an increase of 11.32 percent mainly driven by sharp escalation in the prices of LPG, which surged by 106.86 percent, electricity for Q1 by 52.38 percent, diesel by 45.13 percent, petrol by 43.61 percent, wheat flour by 34.87 percent, chicken by 31.72 percent, chili powder by 15.55 percent, mutton by 14.66 percent, bread plain by 12.26 percent, beef by 12.10 percent, onions by 8.99 percent and tea prepared by 8.41 percent.
On a YoY basis, a major reduction was observed in the prices of potatoes, which went down by 38.67 percent, tomatoes by 27.99 percent, eggs by 26.70 percent, sugar by 25.21 percent, salt powder by 14.86 percent, gur by 8.51 percent, pulse masoor by 8.37 percent and pulse moong by 6.42 percent.
Breaking down SPI by income groups, households with a monthly income of up to Rs17,732 registered a reduction of 0.07 percent, with SPI going down from 358.18 to 357.92 points. For the Rs17,733-22,888 income group, the SPI went down by 0.25 percent, going down from 361.70 to 360.81 points.
The SPI for households with monthly earnings of Rs22,889-29,517 registered a decline of 0.20 percent, going down from 382.69 to 381.91 points, while the Rs29,518-44,175 bracket SPI went down by 0.22 percent, going down from 370.10 to 369.30 points. The highest income group, Rs44,175 and above, recorded a decline of 0.41 percent, taking SPI down from 374.99 to 373.45 points.
The combined SPI plunged from 374.84 points to 373.51 points, reflecting an overall decline of 0.35 percent.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026