ISLAMABAD: The weekly inflation rose to 41.07 per cent on a year-on-year basis on the back of edible oil, sugar and vegetables, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.

Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), was still on the higher side and will further increase when the full impact of power tariff hikes will be passed on to the consumers.

Though week-on-week inflation eased 0.30pc for the week that ended on March 2, it remained high as bananas, chicken, sugar, cooking oil, gas and cigarettes became costlier.

Out of the 51 items tracked, the prices of 32 items increased, nine items decreased, whereas those of 10 items remained unchanged.

During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most compared to the same week a year ago were onions (311.17pc), cigarettes (165.86pc), gas charges for Q1 (108.38pc), diesel (93.82pc), petrol (77.89pc), eggs (77.83pc), rice irri-6/9 (76.96pc), rice basmati broken (75.55pc), pulse moong (73.30pc), bananas (72.66pc), chicken (64.70pc) and tea Lipton (64.53pc).

In contrast, the highest year-on-year fall was recorded in the prices of tomatoes (56.29pc), chillies powdered (7.42pc).

On a week-on-week basis, the biggest change was noted in the prices of bananas (7.34pc), long cloth (3.44pc), energy saver (3.33pc), vegetable ghee 1Kg (2.48pc), gur (2.03pc), cooked daal (1.87pc), tea lipton (1.79pc), match box (1.66pc), lawn printed (1.52pc), cooking oil 5 litre (1.45pc) and sugar (1.07pc).

The products whose prices saw the highest decline compared to the previous week were onions (13.24pc), eggs (6.11pc), garlic (4.24pc), chicken (2.00pc), tomatoes (0.59pc), pulse gram (0.38pc) and potatoes (0.33pc), LPG (1.84pc) and petrol (1.80pc).

The government has been taking strict measures under IMF conditions that are likely to further cool the economy and stoke inflation. The increase in policy rate, general sales tax from 17pc to 18pc will further increase retail price of consumer goods.

The government has already taken a string of measures, including adopting a market-based exchange rate; a hike in fuel and power tariffs; the withdrawal of subsidies, and more taxation to generate revenue to bridge the fiscal deficit.

As a result of these measures, the government has raised its annual inflation rate to 31pc from an earlier projection of 26pc.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2023