ISLAMABAD, April 10: Strong domestic demand and rising food and energy prices pushed up inflation in the month of March to an all-time high of 14.12 per cent.

The coalition government is yet to initiate measures to contain an unprecedented rise in prices of all commodities of daily use, seriously eroding the purchasing power of the people, particularly of the middle and lower income groups.

Figures issued by the Federal Bureau of Statistics show that food inflation, measured through the Consumer Price Index (CPI), ballooned to 20.61 per cent in the month of March, the highest-ever increase not only in the country but in the entire region, over the figure for the same month last year. In February, the food inflation stood at 16 per cent.

All food items, including vegetable and fruits, potatoes, chicken, fish, cooking oil, vegetable ghee, mustard oil, rice, masoor and whole gram, gram pulse and besan, ready-made food, tea, dry fruits, and sweetmeat saw the unprecedented price hike in March.

The double-digit food inflation is being witnessed since September 2007.

For 2007-08, a 6.5 per cent annual inflation had been projected.

The inflation in the first nine months (July-March) reached 9.49 per cent, up from eight per cent during the same period last year, suggesting that the annul inflation may exceed 10 per cent.

The cities which recorded higher than average national inflation were Nawabshah (19.15pc), Shahadpur (18.45pc), Loralai (17.88pc), Hyderabad (17.69pc) and Mardan (17.59pc).

Other towns which witnessed inflation in the range of 15 to 17 per cent include Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Vehari, Mianwali, Samundari, Sukkur, Larkana, Mirpurkhas, Kunri, Peshawar and Khuzdar.

Transportation charges recorded an increase of 3.19 per cent in March and another hike in oil prices will take fares further up and also push up the prices of services and goods.

The previous government kept prices of petroleum products frozen for quite some time to contain non-food inflation which stood at five per cent over the past year.

But it is not just food or oil getting more expensive, the wholesale price index (WPI), the most commonly used measure to monitor the cost of production, rose to 19.79 per cent in March, which again was the highest-ever increase in the country.

The WPI indicates an increase in wholesale prices of more than 425 items. It witnessed a 16 per cent increase in February.

Another big blow to the people was the rise in medical expenses which in March was 6.54 per cent. Similarly, house rent went up by 10.60 per cent over last year.