ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), recorded a negative growth of 1.20 per cent year-on-year in the week ending on March 20 due to a decline in the price of perishable products.

The SPI-based inflation recorded a decline for three consecutive weeks. Week-on-week, it declined by 0.35pc, official data showed on Friday.

The overall short-term inflation rate has also slowed due to the higher base of last year. Moreover, the prices remained stable for most of the products, excluding wheat flour.

However, the retail price of sugar and edible oil increased despite falling on the international market. The government allowed sugar export to the tune of 757,779 tonnes in the first eight months of the current fiscal year, compared to 33,101 tonnes in the same months last year, showing an increase of 2,188pc.

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 during the week ending Nov 16, 2023.

The items whose prices saw a decline week-on-week included tomatoes (7.08pc), onions (6.07pc), garlic (5.59pc), eggs (4.64pc), potatoes (2.50pc), pulse gram (1.60pc), tea Lipton (1.30pc), sugar (0.87pc) and firewood (0.60pc).

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included lawn printed (2.90pc), LPG (1.53pc), bananas (1.45pc), long cloth (1.23pc), bread (0.55pc), cigarettes (0.27pc), beef (0.25pc), curd (0.24pc) and salt powder (0.03pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included ladies sandal (75.09pc), pulse moong (26.96pc), powdered milk (25.75pc), beef (21.01pc), sugar (18.65pc), chicken (18.23pc), pulse gram (17.83pc), vegetable ghee 1 kg (16.13pc), bananas (15.73pc), lawn printed (12.28pc), shirting (12.20pc) and georgette (11.20pc).

In contrast, the prices of onions dropped 67.67pc, followed by wheat flour (35.58pc), tomatoes (29.45pc), chillies powder (20pc), electricity charges for Q1 (18.92pc), tea Lipton (16.98pc), pulse mash (13.96pc), pulse masoor (11.69pc), rice basmati broken (9.81pc), diesel (9.37pc), petrol (8.55pc) and LPG (5.30pc).

Data showed that the prices of 11 items increased, 18 decreased and those of 22 items remained stable compared to the previous week.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025