ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), continued year-on-year downward trajectory, slowing to 17.96 per cent during the week ending Aug 8, official data showed on Friday.
On a week-on-week basis, SPI saw an increase of 0.30pc mainly due to increase in the prices of items like onions and pulses. However, the prices of wheat flour, tomatoes, sugar and chilli powder recorded a slight decrease.
The weekly inflation hit a record 48.35pc year-on-year in early May 2023, but then decelerated as low as 24.4pc in late August 2023 before surging past 40pc in mid-November. The last reading above 40pc was witnessed in late January.
During the past week, the items whose prices increased week-on-week included onions (32.23pc), eggs (4.28pc), garlic (3.23pc), LPG (1.73pc), georgette (1.32pc), pulse mash (0.97pc), pulse gram (0.95pc), pulse moong (0.83pc), potatoes (0.70pc), firewood (0.56pc), chicken (0.52pc) and cigarettes (0.09pc).
On an annual basis, the items whose prices decreased the most included gas charges (570pc), tomatoes (19.12pc), bananas (1.55pc), wheat flour (1.39pc), chilies powder (1.31pc), pulse masoor (0.68pc), sugar (0.44pc) and bread (0.02pc).
Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2024
