Weekly SPI decreases by 0.03%

January 30, 2026 (MLN): Pakistan's short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), decreased by 0.03% for the week ended January 29, 2026, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The notable decrease in weekly inflation was primarily driven by a sharp fall in Potatoes (7.81%), Onions (6.66%), Salt Powder (1.36%), Wheat Flour (1.17%), Pulse Masoor (0.75%), Eggs (0.30%), Gur (0.24%) and Rice Basmati Broken (0.08%).

Conversely, the report highlighted increased in several essential items including Tomatoes (7.53%), Chicken (3.25%), Bananas (3.07%), LPG (1.56%), Pulse Mash (1.49%), Pulse Gram (1.31%), Chilies Powder (0.66%), Pulse Moong (0.61%), Firewood (0.37%), Vegetable Ghee 2.5Kg (0.32%), Shirting (0.25%) and Cigarettes (0.24%).

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 18 (35.29%) items increased, 09 (17.65%) items decreased and 24 (47.06%) items remained stable.

On an annual basis, the SPI showed a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 4.52% compared to the same week last year.

The PBS attributed the increase in prices of Eggs (42.85%), Tomatoes (41.14%), Wheat Flour (38.29%), Gas Charges for Q1 (29.85%), Chilies Powder (13.30%), Beef (12.65%), Firewood (11.54%), LPG (11.31%), Powdered Milk (10.00%), Gur (9.25%), Shirting (8.49%) and Bananas (8.33%).

However, decrease was observed in prices of Potatoes (47.35%), Garlic (35.89%), Onions (31.40%), Pulse Gram (26.16%), Tea Lipton (17.79%), Chicken (14.88%), Pulse Mash (10.94%), Salt Powder (9.80%), Diesel (1.27%) and Petrol (0.95%).

The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs4,396 per 50 kg bag, 1.22% higher from last week’s price, and a 2.29% decrease from last year.

Meanwhile, the average Cement price rise very slightly to Rs1,406 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.14% higher than the previous week, and 2.46% above prices last year.

The SPI, which tracks price movements of 51 essential commodities from 50 markets across 17 cities, serves as a key barometer of short-term inflation trends in Pakistan.

The indicator is computed on a weekly basis to assess price movements of essential items at shorter intervals, enabling policymakers to review the country's price situation in near real-time.

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