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Short-Term Inflation Eases to 3.97% in Pakistan Due to Decline in Perishable Item Prices
Pakistan’s short-term inflation eased to 3.97% in the week ending Jan 2, driven by a decline in prices of essential vegetables like tomatoes and potatoes.
ND
by News Desk
2025-01-04
Short-Term Inflation Eases to 3.97% in Pakistan Due to Decline in Perishable Item Prices

Pakistan’s short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), recorded a notable easing to 3.97% year-on-year, primarily due to a reduction in the prices of essential perishable items like tomatoes and potatoes. This decline marked a reversal after a continuous increase in inflation for three consecutive weeks.

According to official data released on Friday, the SPI-based inflation showed a week-on-week decline of 0.26%. This drop comes after the market observed a significant decline in the prices of key vegetables such as tomatoes (down by 13.48%) and potatoes (down by 5.59%), as well as a reduction in electricity charges (down by 7.48%) and LPG cylinder costs (down by 0.18%).

However, the past weeks had seen a steady increase in the prices of perishable goods, which had raised concerns among consumers. Edible oil manufacturers also raised prices recently, and the retail cost of tomatoes spiked notably in the last week. Moreover, an increase in fuel prices, including petrol and diesel, was anticipated to have an impact on transportation costs, which could influence the prices of vegetables and fruits in the coming weeks.

Notable declines were also seen in the prices of pulse gram (down by 0.34%), eggs (down by 0.23%), garlic (down by 0.21%), wheat flour (down by 0.09%), and pulse mash (down by 0.05%).

However, several items saw price increases week-on-week, including chicken (up by 10.28%), onions (up by 4.93%), bananas (up by 1.68%), diesel (up by 1.18%), pulse moong (up by 1.08%), sugar (up by 0.95%), gur (up by 0.58%), firewood (up by 0.55%), and vegetable ghee (up by 0.53% for 2.5 kg and 0.28% for 1 kg).

When considering the annual price changes, items like tomatoes saw a massive increase of 77.84%, followed by ladies' sandals (up by 75.09%), potatoes (up by 66.63%), pulse gram (up by 47.53%), and pulse moong (up by 30.73%). On the other hand, some items, such as wheat flour, saw a significant decrease in price by 36.12%, followed by onions (down by 29.95%), chillies powder (down by 20%), and eggs (down by 15.78%).

The SPI index, which monitors the prices of essential goods and services in Pakistan, is computed weekly from 51 items collected across 50 markets in 17 cities. This data aims to provide an ongoing snapshot of market trends and inflationary pressures.

In the week under review, 18 items showed a price increase, 10 items saw a decline, and 23 items remained stable in price compared to the previous week.
Tagged:

inflation

SPI

PakistanEconomy

PriceChanges

MarketTrends

ConsumerGoods
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