Weekly inflation sees sharpest drop to 2.72% since March

Pakistan recorded a 2.72% year-on-year decline in its weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI) or the week ending April 17, the sharpest fall since the deflationary trend that started in March, The News reported on Saturday citing official figures released on Friday.

The continued decline signals a weak demand and persistent pricing pressures in key consumer categories, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The SPI, which measures the cost of essential goods across 17 cities, also showed a negative growth of 0.69% over the previous week. Of the 51 monitored items, the prices of 16 rose, 18 declined, and 17 remained unchanged. 

During one week, prices of tomatoes declined by 22.77%, chicken 11%, onions 9.8%, garlic 8.8%, wheat flour 2.37%, potatoes 2.18%, mustard oil 0.95%, LPG 0.89% and vegetable ghee 0.68% and sugar price reduced by 0.29%.

Some items, however, showed a slight increase in prices. This includes shirting, which became dearer by 3.7%, lawn printed 1.5%, lawn cloth and georgette by 1.33