April 07, 2023 (MLN): The Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group has increased by 0.92% during the week ended on April 06, 2023, while the SPI increased by 44.49% compared to the corresponding period from last year, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The rise in prices is mainly driven by food items, particularly chicken, sugar, potatoes, bananas, and wheat flour. Meanwhile, some non-food items like long cloth also experienced a surge in prices.
However, not all items saw an increase in prices during the week. Tomatoes and onions, for instance, experienced a decrease in prices, along with some other items like LPG, pulse gram, vegetable ghee, garlic, and mustard oil.
The Combined Index was at 252.06 compared to 249.75 on March 30, 2023, while the index was recorded at 174.45 a year ago, on April 07, 2022.
Out of the 51 monitored items, the average price of 27 items increased, 7 items decreased whereas 17 items registered no change during the week.
The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 0.84% and 1.03%.
Looking at the year-on-year trend, the SPI has seen an overall increase of 44.49%. The prices of cigarettes, wheat flour, gas charges, diesel, and eggs have particularly skyrocketed, with some experiencing triple-digit percentage increases.
On the other hand, the prices of tomatoes and chillies powdered have decreased during this period.
The Lowest Income Group witnessed a weekly increase of 0.92% while the highest income group recorded an increase of 0.84%.
On a yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 40.43% and 46.47%.
Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 40.43% while the highest income group recorded an increase of 46.47%.
The average price of Sona urea stood at Rs.2929 per 50 kg bag which is 2.88% higher than last week’s price and 41.77% higher when compared to last year.
Meanwhile, the average cement price was recorded at Rs.1126 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.09% higher than the previous week and 29.43% higher than prices last year.
Posted on: 2023-04-07T11:26:38+05:00
