ISLAMABAD, June 13: The wholesale price index of commodities has increased by 6.91 per cent in the first 11 months (July-May) of the current fiscal year over the same period of last year.

Official figures released here by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) on Wednesday showed that the wholesale price of commodities witnessed an upward trend by 6.81 per cent in May 2007 over the same month of the last year.

The WPI measures changes in average ex-factory and wholesale prices of 425 items grouped into five broad categories.

The categories include food items, raw material, fuel, lighting and lubricants, manufacturing and building material.

The main commodities which showed an increase in their prices during May, 2007 over April, 2007 are as under: Food: Tomato (141.98pc), potatoes (8.84pc), vegetable ghee (8.45pc), rice (8.33pc), beans (5.46pc), fresh milk (4.13pc), bajra (3.81pc), masoor (3.57pc), cooking oil (3.07pc), fish (2.46pc), cotton-seed oil (2.37pc), salt (2.34pc), dry fruits (2.05pc), mash (1.88pc), moong (1.74pc), maize (1.34pc), powdered milk (1.09pc) and spices (0.63pc).

The price of pig iron was up by (21.25 pc), mustard/rapeseeds (4.34pc) and cotton-seed (2.07pc); Coke (5.56pc), mobil oil (2.59pc) and furnace oil (1.15pc); fertiliser (2.11pc), blended yarn (1.70pc) and chemicals (1.04pc).

The main commodities which showed a decrease in their prices in May 2007 over April 2007 are as under: Food: Vegetables (14.16pc), eggs (10.99pc), chicken (6.12pc), tea (3.95pc), wheat (3.64pc), gur (1.68pc), jowar (1.45pc), wheat flour (1.42pc), gram split (0.97pc) and maida (0.94pc); wool (0.87pc); dying material (1.06pc) and mattresses (0.89pc); cement (0.97pc).