ISLAMABAD: The short-term inflation, based on the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), posted a year-on-year increase of 28.55 per cent for the week ending on July 6, showed the official data released on Friday.

The short-term inflation decelerated in the past eight weeks in the wake of a slight decrease in petroleum prices. The short-term inflation remained over 45pc for three weeks in May. It reached an all-time high at 48.35pc for the week ending on May 4.

On a week-on-week basis, the SPI increased by 0.7pc.

The depreciation of the rupee, rising petrol prices, an increase in sales tax, and higher electricity bills are among the key contributors to this inflationary trend.

Of the 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 24 goods soared, 10 dropped and 17 remained unchanged compared to the previous week.

During the week under review, the items whose prices increased the most over the same week a year ago were: wheat flour (121.69pc), cigarettes (112.94pc), gas charges for Q1 (108.38pc), tea Lipton (102.86pc), rice basmati broken (77.40pc), rice irri-6/9 (74.61pc), potatoes (69.06pc), chicken (63.22pc), gents sponge chappal (58.05pc), salt powdered (51.61pc), sugar (50.08pc), bananas (48.96pc) and bread (46.86pc).

On a week-on-week basis, the biggest rise was observed in the prices of tomatoes (42.25pc), onions (8.70pc), potatoes (4.79pc), wheat flour (4.05pc), Gur (4.01pc), sugar (3.48pc), shirting (3.02pc) and diesel (2.95pc).

Meanwhile, a decrease was also observed on a week-on-week basis in prices of bananas (7.51pc), chicken (2.80pc), eggs (1.17pc), LPG (0.96pc), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (0.74pc), cooking oil 5-litre (0.72pc), vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.71pc), pulse masoor (0.47pc), pulse moong (0.31pc) and pulse gram (0.24pc).

According to a finance ministry report, the lower-income segment of society is already feeling the brunt of high inflation.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2023