ISLAMABAD, Sept 28: The decline in prices of daily use food items has helped reduce the weekly inflation monitor by 0.53 per cent for the lowest income group for the week ending on September 27, 2012.

Despite an increase in prices of petrol and wheat during the said week, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) has witnessed a decline manly owing to the decrease in food prices as 15 out of 16 items that registered drop in prices relate directly with the kitchen.

The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics here on Friday showed that the SPI for the lowest income group earning up to Rs8,000 per month registered downwards by 0.53 per cent against the previous week.

The SPI declined by 0.47 per cent for the income group earning between Rs8,001 and Rs12,000 per month, while the weekly based income was reduced by 0.45 per cent compared to the previous week for mid level income group of Rs12,001 - Rs18,000 per month.

The SPI for those earning between Rs18,001 and Rs35,000 per month declined by 0.39 per cent and the weekly inflation inched down by 0.26 per cent for the upper end income group earning more than Rs35,000 per month.

16 items witnessed decrease in prices but the drop in the SPI for low income groups is led by loose vegetable ghee, live chicken, sugar, onions and potatoes.

The other items that witnessed decline in prices are bananas, garlic, kerosene oil, tomatoes, washed gram pulse, mustard oil, LPG, washed masoor pulse, washed mash pulse, washed moong pulse and diesel.

The nine items that witnessed increase in prices during the said week are petrol, lawn cloth, farm chicken eggs, gur, rice basmati broken, lose red chilies powder, beef, wheat flour and wheat.