Weekly inflation records largest drop in a year, falls by 1.7%

October 20, 2023 (MLN):  The Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group decreased by 1.7% WoW during the week ended October 19, 2023, while the SPI increased by 35.45% YoY compared to the corresponding period from last year.

To note, this was the largest WoW drop since September 22, 2022.

To recall, on October 15, the government announced a substantial reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Rs40 and Rs15 per litre against the backdrop of noteworthy appreciation of the Pakistani rupee (PKR) against the US dollar and decreasing prices of oil in the international market.

Accordingly, the new petrol and diesel prices stood at Rs283.38 and Rs303.18 per litre. 

According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the Combined Index was at 278.04 compared to 282.86 on October 12, 2023, while the index was recorded at 205.27 a year ago, on October 20, 2022.

Out of 51 items, the average price of 14 items increased, 24 items decreased, and 13 items remained stable.

The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI decreased across all quantiles ranging between 0.88% and 2.02%.

The Lowest Income Group witnessed a weekly decrease of 0.88% while the highest income group recorded a decrease of 2.02%.

On a yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 31.19% and 37.79%.

Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 34.96% while the highest income group recorded an increase of 31.19%.

The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs3,784 per 50 kg bag which is 0.42% lower than last week’s price and 55.08% higher when compared to last year.

Meanwhile, the average Cement price was recorded at Rs1,199 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.17% lower than the previous week and 16.71% higher than prices last year.

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