ISLAMABAD, Oct 14: Sensitive Price Indicator jumped 0.24 per cent during the week ending October 9, over the preceding week following the increase in prices of 12 essential items, according to the latest price data released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).

Mainly a seasonal factor, the kind of items the prices of which spurted during the period under review had the highest impact on the cost of living of middle class households. Thus while SPI for the lowest income households earning up to Rs3,000 per month went up 0.25 per cent, that for households with incomes between Rs3,001 and Rs12,000 spiralled by 0.27 per cent.

The increase in SPI was the lowest for households with monthly incomes above Rs12,000.

The combined SPI for all the four income groups, included in new SPI using 2000-01 as the base year, moved up to 108.31 as against 108.05 during the preceding week. As compared to corresponding week of previous year, the SPI registered an increase of 4.74 per cent.

The effect of price spiral was moderated somewhat by decline in prices of 10 out of 51 items constituting SPI as compared to preceding week. These were: Bananas (3.15%), onions (2.91%), farm egg (1.85%), farm chicken (1.72%), red chilies powdered (1.5%), moong pulse washed (0.51%), gram pulse washed (0.26%), rice Irri-6 (0.24%), potatoes (0.16%) and sugar (0.09%).

The prices of 12 essential items based on the data collected in 17 towns increased as follows:

Tomatoes (36.21%), garlic (2.37%), cooking oil tin (1.20%), beef (1.20%), gur (1.00%), masoor pulse washed (0.73%), firewood and coarse latha (0.44% each), wheat flour average quality (0.23%), wheat and vegetable ghee tin (0.12% each) and vegetable ghee loose (0.11%).