The Sensitive Price Index (SPI) for the week ending on March 7, 2024, rose by 1.11 percent, driven by increases in the prices of onions (33.86 percent), potatoes (23.81 percent), tomatoes (16.42 percent), bananas (7.12 percent), LPG (4.43 percent), and petrol and firewood (1.49 percent each), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Year-on-year trends show a 32.37 percent increase primarily due to rises in gas charges for q1 (570 percent), tomatoes (176.55 percent), chili powder (81.74 percent), gents sponge chappal (58.05 percent), wheat flour (57.04 percent), gents sandal (53.37 percent), onions (51.56 percent), garlic (45.69 percent), gur (44.94 percent), sugar (41.69 percent), and potatoes (39.08 percent). Decreases were observed in the prices of vegetable ghee 1 kg (20.15 percent), cooking oil 5 liters (19.53 percent), bananas (17.95 percent), mustard oil (16.20 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (16.04 percent), LPG (4.20 percent), chicken (1.51 percent), and cigarettes (0.05 percent).
Out of 51 items, prices of 14 (27.45 percent) increased, 14 (27.45 percent) decreased, and 23 (45.10 percent) remained stable during the week.
The SPI for the week was recorded at 322.86 points, compared to 319.30 points in the previous week, according to PBS data released on Friday.
SPI for consumption groups up to Rs. 17,732, Rs. 17,732-Rs. 22,888, Rs. 22,889-Rs. 29,517, Rs. 29,518-Rs. 44,175, and above Rs. 44,175 increased by 1.69 percent, 1.45 percent, 1.20 percent, 1.15 percent, and 0.99 percent, respectively.
During the period under review, prices of onions (33.86 percent), potatoes (23.81 percent), tomatoes (16.42 percent), bananas (7.12 percent), LPG (4.43 percent), eggs (2.66 percent), petrol super (1.49 percent), firewood whole 40 kg (1.49 percent), beef with bone (1.38 percent), mutton (0.50 percent), cooked daal (0.41 percent), long cloth 57″ gul ahmed/al karam (0.27 percent), mustard oil (0.17 percent), and pulse mash (0.06 percent) increased.
Prices of chicken (6.95 percent), tea lipton yellow label (1.29 percent), cooking oil dalda or other similar brands (sn), 5-liter tin each (0.96 percent), bread plain (0.51 percent), gur (0.40 percent), garlic (0.39 percent), pulse masoor (0.26 percent), vegetable ghee dalda/habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (0.23 percent), vegetable ghee dalda/habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.19 percent), pulse gram (0.16 percent), rice basmati broken (0.12 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.12 percent), wheat flour bag 20 kg (0.06 percent), and sugar (0.04 percent) decreased in price.
