ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased 4.18 per cent year-on-year in the week ending Nov 6, owing to an increase in the retail price of wheat flour.

The SPI-based inflation rate recorded an upward trend for the past 14 consecutive weeks. The incre­ase is mainly driven by a surge in prices of perishable products, including oni­ons, tomatoes, potatoes, wheat flour as well as edible oil.

It, however, declined by 0.59pc from the previous week, official data showed on Friday.

The prices of tomatoes, onions and potatoes saw an increase owing to disruption in supply due to closure of border with Afgha­nistan. The extraordinary spike in the retail prices of sugar, and meat also contributed in reversing the trend during the past weeks under review. The price of meat is steadily on the rise in the past few weeks.

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week inclu­ded eggs (2.40pc), bananas (2.32pc), firewood (1.61pc), diesel (1.12pc), beef (0.93pc), tea prepared (0.92pc), petrol (0.91pc), bread (0.55pc), wheat flour (0.34pc), powdered milk (0.31pc) and cooking oil 5 litre (0.21pc).

The items whose prices saw a decline week-on-week included tomatoes (37.93pc), onions (4.88pc), garlic (3.23pc), pulse gram (1.58pc), chicken (0.68pc), sugar (0.64pc), gur (0.60pc), pulse masoor (0.55pc) and LPG (0.15pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included ladies sandal (55.62pc), sugar (43.67pc), gas (29.85pc), wheat flour (19.50pc), gur (18.88pc), firewood (14.25pc), beef (14.09pc), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (11.53pc), onions (11.22pc), and diesel (9.29pc).

In contrast, the prices of garlic dropped 33.54pc, electricity (26.2pc), potatoes (22.3pc), tomatoes (19.6pc), pulse mash (15pc), chicken (15pc), LPG (9.1pc) and pulse masoor (4.95pc).

Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2025