The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended May 26, 2022, recorded a marginal decrease of 0.26 percent mainly due to decline in the prices of food items, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts an increase of 16.97 percent mainly due to increase in onions (184.91 percent), tomatoes (180.60 percent), LPG (92.33 percent), garlic (81.67 percent), mustard oil (66.66 percent), pulse masoor (64.36 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (61.21 percent), vegetable ghee 1 Kg (60.65 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 Kg (60.21 percent), washing soap (42.28 percent), petrol (37.42 percent) and diesel (29.63 percent), while major decrease observed in the prices of chillies powdered (43.42 percent), pulse moong (23.30 percent), bananas (19.86 percent), sugar (12.82 percent), potatoes (12.63 percent) and gur (0.89 percent) and electricity charges for Q1 (11.71 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went down from 175.08 percent during the week ended May 19, 2022 to 174.62 percent during the week under review.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs. 17,732 and Rs. 17,733 to Rs. 22,888, Rs. 22,889 to Rs. 29,517 and Rs. 29,518 to Rs. 44,175 and for above Rs. 44,175 decreased by 0.38 percent, 0.44 percent, 0.40 percent, 0.35 percent and 0.15 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 27 (52.94 percent) items increased, 05 (9.81 percent) items decreased and 19 (37.25 percent) items remained stable, says the PBS.

The items the prices of which increased included potatoes (8.43 percent), tomatoes (6.33 percent), eggs (6.29 percent), rice basmati broken (4.71 percent), mustard oil (4.16 percent), pulse masoor (3.93 percent), milk fresh (3.47 percent), onions (3.03 percent), pulse gram (2.58 percent), curd (2.35 percent), sufi washing soap (2.13 percent), cooked beef (1.55 percent), beef with bone (1.42 percent), pulse mash (1.33 percent), cooked daal (1.32 percent), mutton (1.30 percent), rice IRRI-6/9 (1.24 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1 kg pouch each (0.98 percent), sugar (0.83 percent), pulse moong (0.67 percent), cooking oil DALDA or other similar brand (SN), 5 litre tin each (0.49 percent), powdered milk NIDO 390 gm polybag each (0.46 percent), bananas (0.34 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5 kg tin each (0.25 percent) and gur (0.05 percent).

The items which registered a decrease in prices include wheat flour bag (12.25 percent), chilies powder National (6.48 percent), chicken (4.41 percent), garlic (2.99 percent) and LPG (0.43 percent).

Source: Pro Pakistani