September 4, 2019 (MLN): Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has changed the base year for price statistics from 2007-08 to 2015-16. The Governing Council directed that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for new base year (2015-16) will be published along with CPI for old base year 2007-08 for some time.
According to the press release issued by PBS, the CPI on new base (2015-16) comprises of urban CPI and Rural CPI. The Urban CPI covers 35 cities and 356 consumer items, whereas the Rural CPI covers 27 Rural Centers and 244 consumer items. In the new base year (2015-16) National CPI for 12 major groups is also computed by taking weighted average of Urban CPI and Rural CPI.
CPI National with base year (2015-16) for the month of August, 2019 increased by 1.64% over July, 2019. The Urban CPI with base year (2015-16) recorded an increase of 1.46% while Rural CPI with base year (2015-16) recorded an increase of 1.91%. CPI with old base year (2007-08) recorded an increase of 1.38%.
CPI National with base year (2015-16) for the month of August, 2019 increased by 10.49% over August, 2018. The Urban CPI with base year (2015-16) recorded an increase of10.64% while Rural CPI with base year (2015-16) recorded an increase of 10.27%. CPI with old base year (2007-08) recorded an increase of 11.63%.
