ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended October 7, 2021 recorded an increase of 1.21 percent due to increase in the prices of food items including chicken (17.12 percent), potatoes (5.89 percent), garlic (3.70 percent), tea Lipton (1.98 percent), wheat flour bag (1.97 percent), tomatoes (1.83 percent),and non-food items including LPG (7.73 percent), petrol (3.20 percent), and diesel (1.59 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend depicts increase of 12.94 percent, with most of the items increased, electricity for Q1 (57.92 percent, chicken (52.28 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (40.87 percent), mustard oil (39.90 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (39.34 percent), cooking oil 5-liter (37.97 percent), chilies powdered (33.43 percent), gents sandal (33.37 percent), washing soap (25.21 percent), gents sponge chappal (25.13 percent), and petrol (22.22 percent), while major decrease is observed in the prices of tomatoes (56.71 percent), onions (31.66 percent), moong (30.34 percent), potatoes (24.37 percent), and maash (0.47 percent).

According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 157.04 percent during the week ended September 30, 2021 to 158.94 percent during the week under review.

The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs 17,733, Rs 17,733 to Rs 22,888, Rs 22,889 to Rs 29,517, Rs 29,518 to Rs 44,175 and for above Rs 44,175 increased by 0.88 percent, 1.03 percent, 1.08 percent, 1.17 percent, and 1.31 percent respectively.

During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 22 (43.13 percent) items increased, eight (15.68 percent) items decreased, and21 (41.18 percent) items remained stable, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.

The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include chicken (17.12 percent), LPG (7.73 percent), potatoes (5.89 percent), garlic (3.70 percent), petrol (3.20 percent), tea Lipton Yellow Label 190gm packet each (1.98 percent), wheat flour bag 20kg (1.97 percent), Sufi washing soap (1.94 percent), gur (1.84 percent), tomatoes (1.83 percent), mustard oil (1.60 percent), hi-speed diesel (1.59 percent), tea prepared (0.52 percent), sugar (0.44 percent), cooked beef (0.41 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each (0.37 percent), vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each (0.34 percent), rice basmati broken (0.25 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.14 percent), Georgette (0.07 percent), milk fresh (0.04 percent), and mutton (0.03 percent).

The commodities, which recorded decrease in their prices during the period under review include eggs (2.66 percent), bananas (2.09 percent), onions (1.62 percent), moong (1.23 percent), chilies powder National 200gm packet each (1.12 percent), masoor (0.69 percent), maash (0.49 percent), and pulse gram (0.47 percent).—TAHIR AMIN