Pakistan Sees Rising Inflation as Prices of 14 Essential Items Increase

Islamabad: Inflation in Pakistan is accelerating again, with the weekly inflation rate rising by 0.73% in the latest week, while annual inflation has reached 4.32%.

During the week, prices of 14 essential items increased, 12 items saw a decrease, and 25 items remained stable, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics’ (PBS) weekly inflation report.

The report highlighted that tomatoes dropped by 28%, onions by 10%, and potatoes by 4.58%, while other items like salt, chickpeas, garlic, eggs, and flour also became cheaper. On the other hand, prices of moong dal, ghee, cooking oil, and powdered milk increased. Sugar, jaggery, beef, electricity, LPG, cigarettes, and firewood also became more expensive. In various cities, sugar is being sold at between Rs 179 and Rs 220 per kilogram. Electricity tariffs for lower-income groups saw an increase of over 11%.

The data further revealed that, based on sensitive price indices, inflation rates vary across income groups:

* Households earning up to Rs 17,732 per month experienced a 0.094% decrease, with inflation at 3.85%.
* Monthly incomes between Rs 17,733 and Rs 22,888 saw a 0.99% increase, with inflation at 4.70%.
* Households earning Rs 22,889 to Rs 29,517 saw a 0.49% increase, with inflation at 4.60%.
* Incomes between Rs 29,518 and Rs 44,175 experienced a 0.28% increase, with inflation at 4.40%.
* Households earning above Rs 44,176 per month saw a 0.60% rise, with inflation at 3.79%.

This reflects a continuing trend of rising costs affecting different segments of the population unevenly.