ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation rose to 11.32 per cent year-on-year in the week ending Oct 29, driven largely by perishable food products, according to official data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday.
The Sensitive Price Index (SPI), comprising 51 items whose prices are collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is calculated weekly to track changes in the prices of essential commodities and services.
Short-term inflation has remained in double digits for several consecutive weeks, largely on the back of persistent increases in petroleum and diesel prices.
The SPI decreased slightly by 0.35pc week-on-week, reflecting price fluctuations in both food and non-food items.
The data showed that of the 51 essential items monitored during the week, the prices of 15 commodities increased, while those of 12 items declined. Meanwhile, the prices of 24 items remained unchanged from the previous week.
Unwilling to reduce the petroleum levy, the government has continued to raise petrol and diesel prices. The surge in energy costs is not only fuelling inflationary pressures but also indirectly boosting sales tax collections through higher prices of goods and services.
The items that recorded the highest price increases over the previous week included tomatoes (34.91pc), potatoes (3.27pc), diesel (2.53pc), pulse gram (2.11pc), plain bread (1.29pc), onions (0.62pc), fresh milk (0.48pc), curd (0.46pc), vegetable ghee (0.29pc) and firewood (0.2pc).
The items that recorded week-on-week price declines included electricity charges for Q1 (3.92pc), chicken (2.95pc), eggs (2.81pc), wheat flour (0.83pc), LPG (0.73pc), bananas (0.71pc), rice IRRI-6/9 and masoor pulse (0.43pc each), petrol (0.39pc), sugar (0.35pc) and powdered milk (0.33pc).
On an annual basis, the items that recorded the highest price increases included LPG (106.86pc), electricity charges for Q1 (52.38pc), diesel (45.13pc), petrol (43.61pc), wheat flour (34.87pc), chicken (31.72pc), chilli powder (15.55pc), mutton (14.66pc), plain bread (12.26pc), beef (12.10pc), onions (8.99pc) and prepared tea (8.41pc).
In contrast, potato prices fell by 38.67pc, followed by tomatoes (27.99pc), eggs (26.70pc), sugar (25.21pc), powdered salt (14.86pc), gur (8.51pc), masoor pulse (8.37pc) and moong pulse (6.42pc).
Last week, short-term inflation rose to 11.85pc year-on-year, driven largely by higher wheat flour prices, according to data released by the PBS.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2026
