ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), recorded an increase of 1.90 per cent year-on-year in the week ending Jan 9, the lowest since the data available, owing to a decline in the prices of perishable food items.

The SPI-based inflation maintained a downward trend for the second week after a three-week increase. It declined by 0.65pc week-on-week, according to official data, on Friday.

In the past week, the market had witnessed a notable decline in the prices of essential vegetables, including tomatoes, onions and potatoes, accompanied by a modest reduction in rice and pulses.

The items whose prices saw a decline week-on-week included tomatoes (31.40pc), potatoes (10.36pc), eggs (5.96pc), pulse gram (1.64pc), onions (0.87pc), rice basmati broken (0.54pc), rice IRRI-6/9 (0.40pc), pulse mash (0.27pc) and LPG (0.14pc).

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included pulse moong (2.56pc), cooking oil 5-litre (1.56pc), sugar (1.23pc), chicken (0.80pc), vegetable ghee 1kg (0.61pc), bread (0.57pc), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (0.49pc), washing soap (0.43pc), garlic (0.39pc) and firewood (0.12pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included ladies sandal (75.09pc), potatoes (58.76pc), pulse gram (42.11pc), pulse moong (34.15pc), powdered milk (25.76pc), beef (23.75pc), garlic (18.43pc), gas charges for Q1 (15.52pc), vegetable ghee 1kg (15.48pc), cooked daal (15.10pc), shirting (14.36pc) and firewood (12.89pc). In contrast, the prices of onions dropped 36.35pc, followed by wheat flour (36.17pc), eggs (24.07pc), chillies powder (20pc), electricity charges for Q1 (18.11pc), pulse masoor (11.18pc), rice basmati broken (9.14pc), pulse mash (7pc), diesel (6.39pc), bread (5.48pc) and petrol (5.45pc).

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2025