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ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), rose by 2.21 per cent year-on-year for the week ending Aug 14, driven primarily by higher prices of perishable items in the domestic market, according to official data released on Friday.
This marks the fourth consecutive weekly increase in SPI-based inflation. On a week-on-week basis, the SPI edged up by 0.31pc, mainly due to rising prices of tomatoes, onions, chicken, and wheat flour. A steady increase in the retail prices of sugar, vegetables, and meat also contributed to the inflationary trend.
Sugar was being sold at Rs185-Rs200 per kg in retail markets, reflecting a sharp price increase over recent weeks. Meat prices have also shown a steady upward trajectory, adding further pressure on household budgets.
Despite these increases, overall short-term inflation is moderating due to a high base effect from the previous year. Prices for many essential items remained stable during the week, with exceptions noted for wheat flour and some perishables.
Prices of 17 items increased during the latest week, while 9 items saw a decline and 25 remained unchanged. Weekly gainers included tomatoes (12.62pc), chicken (4.68pc), eggs (2.11pc), onions (1.98pc), garlic (1.60pc), wheat flour (1.44pc), gur (1.04pc), pulse mash (0.52pc), and firewood (0.17pc).
Items recording weekly declines were bananas (2.52pc), potatoes (1.65pc), pulse gram (0.84pc), pulse moong (0.73pc), LPG (0.36pc), pulse masoor (0.29pc), 1kg vegetable ghee (0.10pc), powdered salt (0.06pc), and Irri-6/9 rice (0.04pc).
On an annual basis, the highest price surges were observed in ladies’ sandals (55.62pc), gas charges for Q1 (29.85pc), sugar (22.83pc), beef (13.54pc), and vegetable ghee. Conversely, onion prices fell 52.10pc, followed by tomatoes (34.33pc), garlic (26.71pc), and wheat flour (19.41pc).
The SPI is compiled weekly using data from 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities to capture short-term price movements.
Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2025
