August 07, 2007	Tuesday	Rajab 22, 1428

ISLAMABAD, Aug 6: Prices of 20 essential kitchen items including tomatoes witnessed an upward trend during the week ending on August 5, over the previous week, according to figures released by Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) on Monday.

Among the items, prices of vegetables, edible oil, milk products and pulses are steadily on rise but the government has yet to take effective steps for curtailing the prices of these items during the past few weeks.

According to data prices of 20 items went up during the period under review as compared to the previous week. The prices of tomatoes increased by 14.76 per cent to Rs27.83 per kg as against Rs24.25; chicken increased by 12.40 per cent at Rs74.70 per kg during the week under review as against Rs66.46 kg.

The price of milk powdered Nido increased by 4.96 per cent to Rs141.69 per 400 gm from Rs135, onions 2.39 per cent to Rs13.29 per kg as against Rs12.98; 2.36 per cent in masoor pulse (washed) to Rs53.25 per kg as against Rs52.02; bread plain medium size 1.85 per cent to Rs15.94 each from Rs15.65; bananas 1.30 per cent to Rs33.54 per dozen as against Rs33.11; cooked beef plate 1.12 per cent to Rs31.70 each as against Rs31.35; sugar 0.81 per cent to Rs29.76 per kg as against Rs29.52.

The price of mustard oil increased by 0.52pc to Rs90.87 per kg as against Rs90.40; red chillies 0.39 per cent to Rs120.88 per kg as against Rs120.41; curd 0.32 per cent to Rs34.31 per kg as against Rs34.20; vegetable ghee loose by 0.30 per cent to Rs87.01 per kg as against Rs86.75, vegetable ghee tin 0.23 per cent to Rs260 per 2.5 kg as against Rs259.41; cooking oil 0.23 per cent to Rs260 per 2.5 litre as against Rs259.41.

The price of milk fresh up by 0.21 per cent to Rs29.08 per litre as against Rs29.02; mash pulse (washed) 0.17 per cent to Rs71.86 per kg as against Rs71.74; wheat 0.16 per cent to Rs12.60 per kg as against Rs12.58 and wheat flour 0.13 per cent to Rs14.86 per kg as against Rs14.84.

The weekly inflation measured through the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) increased by 0.53 per cent during the week under review. The group-wise analysis of the behaviour of prices of 53 essential items prevailing in 17 towns shows that the SPI witnessed an increase of 0.35 per cent and 0.40 per cent, respectively, for households in the two lower income brackets (up to Rs3,000 and Rs3,001-5,000).

For the households in income brackets Rs5,001-12,000 the increase in the SPI was in the range of 0.49 per cent, while for the households in the income group basket of over Rs12,000, the inflation registered a growth of 0.56 per cent over the previous week.