Tag: yoy

  • Inflation edges higher as weekly SPI indicates increase in prices

    Inflation edges higher as weekly SPI indicates increase in prices

    According to the Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Combined Group’s SPI increased by 0.04 per cent during the week ending February 22, 2024.

    Additionally, the SPI surged by 30.68 per cent YoY compared to the same period last year.

    As of February 22, 2024, the Combined Index stood at 315.31, a slight uptick from 315.18 on February 15, 2024. A year ago, on February 23, 2023, the index was significantly lower at 241.29.

    Analysing the data for 51 items, it was found that the average prices of 23 items increased, 8 items decreased, and 20 items remained stable.

    Notable increases during the week were observed in the prices of tomatoes (22.71 per cent), bananas (7.40 per cent), diesel (3.02 per cent), chicken (1.22 per cent), and petrol (1.00 per cent).

    Conversely, onions (14.42 per cent), eggs (11.19 per cent), LPG (1.82 per cent), cooking oil (5 litres) (0.75 per cent), and wheat flour (0.36 per cent) experienced significant decreases.

    Breaking down the SPI percentage change by income groups, it was noted that SPI decreased across all 3 quantiles while increasing across 2 quantiles. The lowest-income group saw a weekly decline of -0.08 per cent, while the highest-income group recorded a rise of 0.09 per cent.

    On a yearly basis, the SPI change across different income segments revealed an increase ranging between 25.53 per cent and 35.39 per cent. The lowest-income group witnessed a 25.53 per cent increase, while the highest-income group recorded a 28.22 per cent rise.

    Specifically, the average price of Sona urea reached Rs4,928 per 50 kg bag, reflecting a 9.19 per cent increase from the previous week and a substantial 69.14 per cent surge compared to the same period last year.

    The surge in prices, especially for essential items, poses a challenge for the general populace, particularly those in lower-income groups.

    Authorities and policymakers are likely to face increasing pressure to address and mitigate the impact of inflation on the economy and the daily lives of people.

  • Weekly inflation in Pakistan remains stubbornly high at 45.72%

    Weekly inflation in Pakistan remains stubbornly high at 45.72%

    Despite coming down marginally, weekly inflation remains above 45 per cent and stood at 45.72 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis for the week ended on 18th May 2023, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PSB) on Friday.

    The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based inflation for the week ended 11th May 2023, recorded a decrease of 0.16 per cent over the previous week due to a decrease in the prices of food and non-food items.

    The year-on-year trend posted an increase due to an increase in the prices of Cigarettes (138.50 per cent), Tea Lipton (114.93 per cent), Potatoes (114.69 per cent), Gas Charges for Q1 (108.38 per cent), Bananas (104.44 per cent), Gents Sponge Chappal (100.33 per cent), Wheat Flour (90.77 per cent), Rice Basmati Broken (86.30 per cent), Eggs (85.86 per cent), Rice Irri-6/9 (80.44 per cent), Petrol (79.85 per cent), Diesel (78.68 per cent), Pulse Moong (66.79 per cent), Bread (63.17 per cent), and Pulse Mash (57.06 per cent), while a decrease was observed in the prices of Tomatoes (38.30 per cent), Onions (30.18 per cent), and Chilies Powdered (6.48 per cent).

    A decrease was observed in the prices of food items: Onions (9.04 per cent), Garlic (1.76 per cent), Sugar (1.42 per cent), Wheat Flour (1.40 per cent), Vegetable Ghee 2.5kg (0.63 per cent), Mustard Oil (0.48 per cent), Pulse Masoor (0.40 per cent), Pulse Gram (0.12 per cent), and Vegetable Ghee 1kg (0.11 per cent); and non-food items: Diesel (10.38 per cent), Petrol (4.24 per cent), LPG (3.02 per cent), and Firewood (0.89 per cent).

    On the other hand, an increase was observed in the prices of Chicken (7.51 per cent), Tea Lipton (4.53 per cent), Gur (2.79 per cent), Eggs (2.29 per cent), Energy Saver (2.22 per cent), Tomatoes (2.11 per cent), Tea Prepared (1.09 per cent), and Curd (1.08 per cent).

    During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 23 (45.10 per cent) items increased, 13 (25.49 per cent) items decreased, and 15 (29.41 per cent) items remained stable.

  • Weekly inflation increases 0.94% as food prices rise

    Weekly inflation increases 0.94% as food prices rise

    Owing to an increase in the prices of food items, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI)-based weekly inflation for the week ending September 29 increased by 0.94 per cent.

    The items which saw an increase in prices include onions (47.77 per cent), tomatoes (30.29 per cent), tea Lipton (2.50 per cent), bread (1.74 per cent) and non-food item, washing soap (1.13 per cent), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

    Moreover, the year-on-year trend recorded an increase of 30.62 per cent, mainly due to a surge in prices of tomatoes (224.20 per cent), onions (139.03 per cent), diesel (105.12 per cent), petrol (91.87 per cent), pulse gram (74.56 per cent, masoor (72.42 per cent), mustard oil (64.53 per cent), washing soap (63.33 per cent), cooking oil 5 litre (61.78 per cent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (58.37 per cent), maash (57.36 per cent), vegetable ghee 1kg (55.89 per cent), gents sponge chappal (52.21 per cent), and moong (47.96 per cent), while decrease observed in the prices of electricity for q1 (45.61 per cent), chillies powder (42.73 per cent), sugar (18.27 per cent), and gur (1.92 per cent).

    According to the most recent PBS data issued on Friday, the SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned category was recorded at 205.13 points as opposed to 203.21 points observed in the previous week.

  • Weekly inflation down 8.1% due to lower FCA, timely import of vegetables

    Weekly inflation down 8.1% due to lower FCA, timely import of vegetables

    Weekly inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ending September 22, 2022, decreased by 8.11 per cent.

    The year-over-year (YoY) trend shows a rise of 29.28 per cent, which is down around 11 per cent from the 40.58 per cent observed last week. The YoY rise stayed above 40 per cent during the previous five weeks, reaching an all-time high of 45.50 per cent.

    The price increase over the previous year was mostly brought on by an increase in prices of tomatoes (117.55 per cent), diesel (105.12 per cent), petrol (91.87 per cent), pulse masoor (75.38 per cent), pulse gram (73.55 per cent), mustard oil (65.64 per cent), cooking oil-5 litre (63.63 per cent), washing soap (61.50 per cent), vegetable ghee-2.5 kg (59.42 per cent), pulse mash (56.93 per cent), vegetable ghee-1 kg (56.09 per cent), onions (50.83per cent) and LPG (49.89 per cent), while decrease was observed in the prices of electricity for q1 (45.61 per cent), chilies powder (43.05 per cent), sugar (19.20 per cent) and gur (3.37 per cent).

    According to the most recent PBS data issued on Friday, the SPI for the week under review in the aforementioned category was recorded at 203.21 points compared to 221.14 points observed in the previous week.

    Out of 51 items, 26 items (50.98 per cent) saw price increases during the week, 10 items (19.61 per cent) saw price decreases, and prices of 15 items (29.41 per cent) remain unchanged.

    For the first quarter, power charges were among the items whose average prices decreased on a week-over-week (WoW) basis showing a decrease of 64.23 per cent.

    Other items which recorded a decrease include tomatoes (8.15 per cent), LPG (3.82 per cent), bananas (1.90 per cent), garlic (1.31 per cent), pulse masoor (0.99 per cent), cooking oil-dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (0.78 per cent), onions (0.46 per cent), vegetable ghee-dalda/habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.34 per cent) and vegetable ghee-dalda/habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (0.06 per cent).

    The general populace has been impacted by the heavy rains and flooding since they are lacking in basic commodities while supply lines for food products have been disrupted.

    On the other hand, timely imports from Iran and Afghanistan are accountable for the decrease in vegetable prices, particularly for onions and tomatoes.

  • Eid-ul-Fitr 2022: Here’s why Pakistan is paying a lot more than last year for clothes, food

    Eid-ul-Fitr 2022: Here’s why Pakistan is paying a lot more than last year for clothes, food

    Cities are decked with spectacular illumination around shopping malls, major streets, and side lanes as Eid shopping begins. Despite growing inflation, there is a lot of hustle in commercial areas.

    But do you know how much higher we are paying for everything this year, from food to clothing, than we did last year?

    Undoubtedly, the PTI-led government struggled to contain inflation, which experts said, was the outcome of record-high global commodity prices and 51 per cent devaluation of the Pakistani rupee (PKR).

    In January 2022, inflation climbed by 13 per cent year on year basis compared to 12.3 per cent in the previous month and 5.7 per cent in January 2021. It is pertinent to mention that inflation reached an all-time high of 14.6 per cent in January 2020.

    The Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated in March 2022 over the same month a year ago, according to the inflation bulletin released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The index remained higher compared to the preceding month during five out of the past six months.

    Inflation Comparison – January 2022

    General CPI inflation, increased by 13.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 12.3 per cent in the previous month and 5.7 per cent in January 2021. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.4 per cent in January 2022 as compared to decrease of -0.02 per cent in the previous month and a decrease of -0.2 per cent in January 2021.

    Urban CPI inflation, increased by 13.0 per cent on a year-on-year basis in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 12.7 per cent in the previous month and 5.0 per cent in January 2021. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.1 per cent in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.3 per cent in the previous month and a decrease of -0.2 per cent in January 2021.

    Rural CPI inflation, increased by 12.9 per cent on a year-on-year basis in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 11.6 per cent in the previous month and 6.6 per cent in January 2021. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.9 per cent in January 2022 as compared to a decrease of -0.5 per cent in the previous month and a decrease of -0.3 per cent in January 2021.

    Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation on a year-on-year basis increased by 24.0 per cent in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 26.2 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 6.4 per cent in January 2021. WPI inflation on a Month-on-month basis increased by 0.6 per cent in January 2022 as compared to a decrease of -0.2 per cent a month earlier and an increase of 2.5 per cent in a corresponding month i.e. January 2021.

    Urban Consumer Price Index (UCPI)

    The Urban Consumer Price Index of January 2022 increased by 0.06 per cent over December 2021 and increased by 12.99 per cent over the same month of the last year (January 2021).

    Month-on-Month Inflation

    Main contributors to month-on-month and year-on-year percentage changes are mentioned below:

    Increase in prices of food items: Pulse Masoor (6.13 per cent), Gram whole (4.79 per cent), Fruits (4.11 per cent), Besan (3.82 per cent), Pulse Gram (3.44 per cent), Pulse Mash (3.37 per cent), Wheat (2.68 per cent), Pulse Moong (1.88 per cent), Meat (1.78 per cent) and Rice (1.28 per cent).

    Increase in prices of garments and other items: Woolen Readymade Garments (6.67 per cent), Solid Fuel (5.16 per cent), Hosiery (1.93 per cent), Motor Fuel (1.75 per cent), Cleaning & Laundering (1.59 per cent), Washing soap/Detergents/Match Box (1.46 per cent) and Liquefied Hydrocarbons (1.29 per cent).

    Year-on-Year Inflation – January 2021

    Edible items

    Increased: Cooking Oil (54.33 per cent), Vegetable Ghee (47.4 per cent), Mustard Oil (46.68 per cent), Pulse Masoor (41.3 per cent), Fruits (28.35 per cent), Gram Whole (24.7 per cent), Meat (22.38 per cent), Chicken (17.08 per cent), Pulse Gram (15.67 per cent), Beans (15.37 per cent), Pulse Mash (12.46 per cent) and Vegetables (11.58 per cent).

    Garments and others

    Increased: Electricity Charges (56.20 per cent), Liquefied Hydrocarbons (53.35 per cent), Motor Fuel (36.22 per cent), Footwear (25.47 per cent), Cleaning & Laundering (22.03 per cent), Washing soap/Detergents/Match Box (17.95 per cent), Motor Vehicle Accessories (14.04 per cent), Woolen Readymade Garments (13.03 per cent) and Plastic Products (11.72 per cent).

    Year-on-Year Inflation – March 2022

    CPI National for the month of March, 2022 increased by 12.72 per cent over March, 2021. The Urban CPI recorded an increase of 11.94 per cent while Rural CPI recorded an increase of 13.88 per cent.

    Edible items in urban areas

    Increased: Tomatoes (148.65 per cent), Mustard Oil (59.91 per cent), Vegetable Ghee (49.56 per cent), Cooking Oil (48.05 per cent), Pulse Masoor (38.32 per cent), Vegetables (34.92 per cent), Fruits (32.00 per cent), Gram whole (25.37 per cent), Meat (23.68 per cent), Chicken (19.59 per cent) and Beans (13.62 per cent).

    Edible items in rural areas

    Increased: Tomatoes (158.82 per cent), Cooking Oil (63.47 per cent), Mustard Oil (57.2 per cent), Vegetable Ghee (56.43 per cent), Vegetables (45.62 per cent), Fruits (37.80 per cent), Pulse Masoor (37.46 per cent), Meat (25.19 per cent), Beans (17.38 per cent), Wheat Flour (16.22 per cent), Chicken (15.09 per cent) and Tea (11.74 per cent).