ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), rebounded and rose by 1.29 per cent year-on-year in the week ending May 15, owing to a rise in the prices of sugar and meat in the retail market.

The SPI-based inflation rate had fallen for nine consecutive weeks, but an extraordinary spike in sugar and meat prices reversed the trend during the week under review.

It recorded a week-on-week increase of 1.03pc, official data showed on Friday.

This marks the third consecutive week of a week-on-week increase, mainly due to the rising prices of meat, chicken and sugar.

The retail price of sugar in the market has reached Rs190-200 per kg.

The overall short-term inflation rate has also slowed compared to the previous year due to a higher base. Moreover, prices remained stable for most products, excluding wheat flour and a few perishable items. The price of meat has been steadily rising over the past few weeks.

On an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included ladies sandal (55.6pc), chicken (47.2pc), pulse moong (29pc), powdered milk (24pc), sugar (21.9pc), bananas (21pc), pulse gram (20.74pc), beef (18pc), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (13.62pc), LPG (12.1pc), lawn printed (11.2pc) and firewood (10.44pc).

In contrast, the prices of onions dropped 53.29pc, followed by garlic (33pc), potatoes (29.8pc), electricity charges for Q1 (29.4pc), tomatoes (23.6pc), wheat flour (21pc), tea Lipton (17.9pc), pulse mash (16.3pc), chilies powder (12.30pc), petrol (7.43pc) and diesel (6.3pc).

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2025