March 30, 2003	Sunday	Muharram 26, 1424

ISLAMABAD, March 29: Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) moved down by 0.27 per cent during the week ending March 27, 2003 as compared to previous week.

During the period under review, according to the weekly press statement of Federal Bureau of Statistics here on Saturday, the onset of spring and consequent increase in supplies of the new season’s vegetables etc., contributed to some decrease in the Food index.

A decrease of 0.42 per cent in the Food index, was, therefore, the main factor in the decline in SPI, while the non-food index went up by 0.06 per cent over the previous week.

The drop in SPI might have been much greater had the period under review not been marked also by 0.19 per cent hike in the cost of petrol and diesel. This increased the Transport & Communication index over the past one year by 20.36 per cent.

Food index decreased by 0.35 per cent for the lowest income households with monthly incomes up to Rs3,000, by 0.39 per cent for those in the income bracket Rs3,001-5,000, by 0.41 per cent for those in the income bracket Rs5,001-12,000 and by 0.43 per cent for those with incomes above Rs12,000. Overall, the SPI fell by 0.26, 0.28, 0.29 and 0.24 per cent, respectively, for these income groups.

Significantly, the prices of as many as 30 items in the list of 53 essential items forming the SPI basket remained unchanged during the period under review.

During the week under report, the items registering downward trend in prices outnumbered those undergoing increase. The nine essential items the prices of which increased during the period under review as compared to previous week were:

Bananas (0.60%), shirting (0.54%), beef (0.48%), egg (farm) (0.45%), lawn (0.42%), masoor pulse washed (0.26%), petrol (0.19%), diesel (0.19%) and rice basmati broken (0.05%).

Following 14 items registered decline in prices as compared to previous week:

Tomatoes (22.82%), garlic (2.57%), chicken farm (2.09%), onions (1.87%), gram pulse washed (1.63%); potatoes (1.26%), sugar (0.60%), mash pulse washed (0.52%), L.P.G. (11-kg cylinder) (0.39%), what (0.32%), moon pulse washed (0.20%), vegetable ghee (tin) (0.15%), red chilies (powdered) (0.12%) and vegetable ghee (loose) (0.07%).