Weekly inflation rises by 0.17%

October 10, 2025 (MLN): The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended October 09, 2025, recorded a 0.17% increase compared to the previous week, driven largely by higher prices of chicken, onions, and wheat flour, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday.

According to PBS, prices of 21 essential items (41.18%) increased, 6 items (11.76%) decreased, while 24 items (47.06%) remained unchanged out of the total 51 items monitored across 17 cities.

Major increase is observed in the prices of Chicken (8.92%), Onions (7.47%), Wheat Flour (5.74%), Eggs (2.25%), Gur (1.70%), Garlic and Vegetable Ghee 1Kg (0.86%) each, Vegetable Ghee 2.5Kg (0.59%), Firewood (0.50%), Washing Soap (0.23%).

On the other hand, major decrease is observed in the prices of Tomatoes (11.34%), Bananas (1.29%), Potatoes (0.93%), LPG (0.59%), Pulse Gram (0.35%) and Mustard Oil (0.07%). 

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the SPI rose 4.34%, with notable increases in tomato (109.82%), ladies’ sandals (55.62%), sugar (36.08%), and gas charges (29.85%).

However, prices of onions, garlic, and electricity charges showed a significant decline.

The SPI analysis by consumption quintiles indicates that price pressures were felt across all income groups, with the highest impact observed among middle and upper-middle-income households.

The lowest income group (Q1), earning up to Rs.17,732 per month, experienced a 0.14% week-on-week increase, while their year-on-year inflation stood at 4.14%.

The second quintile (Q2), with monthly expenditures between Rs.17,733 and Rs.22,888, saw prices rise 0.17% during the week, marking a 4.31% increase from the same period last year.

Households in the third and fourth quintiles, typically representing middle-income groups, recorded the highest weekly increase of 0.18% and 0.20%, respectively.

Their annual inflation rates stood at 5.10% and 5.15%, suggesting stronger inflationary pressures in this segment.

Meanwhile, the highest expenditure group (Q5), with monthly spending above Rs.44,175, observed a 0.16% weekly rise and a 3.59% annual increase, indicating that inflationary impact remains relatively softer for higher-income households.

On a combined basis, the overall SPI rose 0.17% week-on-week and 4.34% year-on-year, reflecting a mild yet broad-based uptick in essential commodity prices across all income categories.

The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs4,390 per 50 kg bag, up by 0.08% from last week’s price, and a 4.32% decrease from last year.

Meanwhile, the average Cement price fell to Rs1,395 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.6% lower than the previous week, and 4.10% lower than prices last year.

PBS calculates short-term inflation using the SPI on a weekly basis to assess the price movement of essential commodities at shorter interval of time so as to review the price situation in the country.

SPI comprises 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country.

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