ISLAMABAD: Inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) decreased by 0.22 per cent in the week ended on July 21 from the previous week amid a slight decline in prices of essential food items.

The week-on-week decrease was seen owing to a slight decrease in prices of vegetables, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data released on Friday.

During the week under review, the year-on-year increase in SPI was 32.82pc.

Last week, the government reduced prices of petrol and diesel, respectively.

The government has already announced in the budget that it will revive sales tax on petroleum products as well as impose a petroleum development levy in a phased manner. Last week, the government imposed Rs10 on petrol per litre, which will gradually increase to Rs50 per litre.

The government projected a modest inflationary annual target of 11.5pc for FY23 in the budget documents. However, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which uses inflation as one of the measures to gather extra tax from consumers, has projected inflation at 12.8pc.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2022