ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), rose 15.15 per cent annually in the week ending Oct 24 owing to rising prices of pulses and gas.

The SPI-based inflation rose for the second straight week.

However, week-on-week, it eased 0.22pc due to a decline in prices of perishable food products, including onions and sugar. The petrol prices declined marginally in the previous fortnight, but an increase in the prices of non-perishable vegetables has offset this.

The items whose prices saw a decline week-on-week included chicken (7.12pc), onions (5.07pc), gur (2.07pc), wheat flour (1.16pc), pulse mash (1.14pc), sugar (0.77pc), pulse gram (0.64pc), rice basmati broken (0.58pc) and LPG (0.01pc).

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included potatoes (3.33pc), garlic (2.97pc), pulse moong (2.84pc), eggs (2.02pc), bananas (0.75pc), cooked daal (0.64pc), tomatoes (0.48pc), vegetable ghee 1kg (0.36%), firewood (0.29pc) and cigarettes (0.08pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included gas charges for Q1 (570pc), pulse gram (82.50pc), onions (50.25pc), chicken (39.12pc), pulse moong (36.94pc), powdered milk (25.37pc), beef (23.46pc), shirting (17.02pc), cooked daal (15.14pc), garlic (14.76pc), georgette (13.13pc) and ladies sandal (12.52pc).

In contrast, the prices of wheat flour dropped 31.88pc, followed by electricity charges for Q1 (20.32pc), chillies powder (20pc), diesel (17.05pc), petrol (12.77pc), cooking oil 5-litre (8.95pc), rice basmati broken (7.64pc), sugar (5.94pc), eggs (5.88pc), bread (5.55pc), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (4.76pc) and washing soap (0.73pc).

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2024