ISLAMABAD, Dec 20: Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) decreased by 0.89 per cent during the week ending Dec 18, 2003, as compared to previous week, according to the weekly statement of Federal Bureau of Statistics here on Saturday.

The decline was attributed to fall in prices of the food group which had sky-rocketed in Ramazan. Thus according to a table analyzing the changes in SPI on the basis of groups commodities, the food group index went down by 1.29pc.

It increased by 0.11pc for non-food group and by 0.44pc for transport and communications.

The prices of 15 items decreased during the period under review as compared to previous week as follows:

Tomatoes (-39.59pc), bananas (-5.59pc), chicken (-4.60pc), potatoes (-02.74pc), onions (-2.60pc), egg farm (-1.39pc), garlic

(-1.05pc), mash pulse washed

(-0.95pc), moong pulse washed

(-0.75pc), sugar (-0.62pc), diesel

(-0.52pc), gram pulse washed

(-0.43pc), mustard oil (-0.14pc), wheat flour average quality

(-0.08pc) and masoor pulse washed (-0.06pc).

The period under review also saw an increase in prices of 12 essential items as follows: LPG (1.09pc), mutton (1.00pc), beef (0.81pc), kerosene (0.79pc), cooked beef (plate) (0.74pc), petrol (0.59pc), bread plain medium size (-0.51pc), wheat (0.35pc), vegetable ghee (tin) (0.33pc), cooking oil (tin) (0.15pc), vegetable ghee loose and red chilies powdered (0.3pc each).

Analyzed income group-wise, the SPI decreased by 0.76pc for households with incomes up to Rs3,000 per month, by 0.85pc for those in the income bracket Rs3001-5000, by 0.90pc for

those in the income bracket (Rs5,001-12,000 and by 0.79pc for those with incomes above Rs12,000.

CEMENT: The price of cement moved up by 0.18pc during the period under review, as compared to previous week. The highest price of Rs230 for 50 kg bag prevailed in 4 cities, namely, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore and Quetta, while the lowest price of Rs210 was reported from Hyderabad.