July 16, 2006	Sunday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 19, 1427

ISLAMABAD, July 15: The wholesale price of major commodities increased by 9.04 per cent in June, over the same month last year.

Federal Bureau of Statistics figures released here on Saturday showed that the wholesale price resurged by 0.63 per cent in June 2006, over the previous month of May 2006.

During the year 2005-06, the increase in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was recorded at 10.10 per cent, which was the highest as compared to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) -– indices for measurement of products price at retail stages.

The wholesale price of food items rose by 6.75pc, raw materials 14.65pc, fuel, lighting and lubricants 17.68pc and manufacturing by 4.13pc in June 2006, over the same month last year.

The main commodities, which showed an increase in their prices in June over May 2006, were: Food: eggs (54.63pc), tomatoes (46.17pc), chicken (42.43pc), potatoes (12.58pc), oil cakes (4.69pc), fruits prepared/preserved (4.06pc), gur (1.77pc), mineral water (1.66pc), vegetable prepared or preserved (1.47pc) and cotton seed oil (1.18pc); Raw Materials: cotton seeds (8.07pc) and cotton (4.29pc); Manufactures: cigarettes (6.41pc), jute manufacturers (3.24pc), utensils (1.93pc), chemicals (1.80pc), dying materials (1.42pc) and silk and rayon textiles (1.04pc); Building Material: pipe fittings (3.16 pc) and glass sheets (2.86pc).

The wholesale prices of commodities which declined during the period under review were: onions (15.87pc), gram split (6.83pc), maize (4.82pc), sugar refined (4.36pc), fresh fruits (3.32pc), moong (3.31pc), besan (2.92pc), bajra (2.22pc), masoor (2.21pc), vegetables (1.34pc), gram whole (1.30pc) and jawar (1.16pc).