June 01, 2023 (MLN): The consumer price index (CPI) for the month of May 2023 has soared by 38% YoY, compared to 36.4% YoY in the last month and 13.8% YoY in May 2022, the latest data issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday showed.
Meanwhile, on a sequential basis, inflation has increased by 1.6% MoM.
This has brought 11MFY23 average inflation to 29% as against 11.3%in the corresponding period last year.
The estimates have exceeded the market expectations which were between 36.7% – 39.6% with an average estimate of 37.84% YoY.
CPI in urban areas jumped to 35.1% on a year-on-year basis in May 2023 as compared to an increase of 33.5% in the previous month and 12.4% in May 2022.
While on a monthly basis, it moved up to 1.5% in May 2023 as compared to an up of 2% in the previous month and an increase of 0.3% in May 2022.
Similarly, prices in the rural areas also witnessed an uptick as CPI inflation in these areas soared to 42.2% YoY in May 2023 as compared to an increase of 40.7% in the previous month and 15.9% in May 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased to 1.7% in May 2023 as compared to an increase of 3% in April 2023 and an increase of 0.6% in May 2022.
