March 01, 2024 (MLN): The Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group increased by 1.27% WoW during the week ended February 29, 2024, while the SPI rose 32.73% YoY compared to the corresponding period from last year.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) the Combined Index was at 319.30 compared to 315.18 on February 23, 2024, while the index was recorded at 240.57 a year ago, on March 02, 2023.
Out of 51 items, the average price of 14 items increased, 12 items decreased, and 25 items remained stable.
During the week, a major increase was observed in the prices of Gas Charges for Q1 (15.52%), Bananas (5.25%), Onions (2.87%), Eggs (1.32%), and Tea Prepared (0.84%).
To note, last month, the government hiked gas price tariffs in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s conditions.
On the other hand, a major decrease was observed in the prices of Tomatoes (11.48%), Pulse Mash (0.97%), LPG (0.85%), Wheat (0.56%), and Cooking Oil 5 Litre (0.44%).
The weekly SPI percentage change by income groups showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 0.66% and 1.86%.
The Lowest Income Group witnessed a weekly rise of 1.36% while the highest income group recorded a rise of 0.66%.
On a yearly basis, analysis of SPI change across different income segments showed that SPI increased across all quantiles ranging between 27.35% and 38.07%.
Yearly SPI for the Lowest Income Group increased by 27.35% while the highest income group recorded an increase of 29.61%.
The average price of Sona urea was at Rs4,943 per 50 kg bag which is 0.29% higher than last week’s price and 70.47% higher when compared to last year.
Meanwhile, the average Cement price was recorded at Rs1,234 per 50 kg bag, which is 0.30% lower than the previous week while 10.76% higher than prices last year.
