ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended January 6, 2022 recorded an increase of 0.08 percent due to increase in the prices of food items including potatoes (5.23 percent), chicken (4.45 percent), bananas (2.56 percent), onions (2.12 percent), masoor (1.55 percent), and non-food items, diesel and salt (2.75 percent) each and petrol (2.68 percent), says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The year-on-year trend depicts increase of 20.08 percent mainly due to increase in electricity for Q1 (83.95 percent), cooking oil 5 litre (56.75 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (53.85 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (53.26 percent), LPG (51.50 percent), gents sponge chappal (50.25 percent), mustard oil (48.59 percent), washing soap (45.85 percent), gents sandal (44.49 percent), masoor (38.05 percent), petrol (36.13 percent), and diesel (28.07 percent), while major decrease was observed in the prices of tomatoes (46.76 percent), moong (24.70 percent), onions (12.02 percent), eggs (7.68 percent), and chillies powdered (3.30 percent).
According to the latest data, the SPI went up from 167.98 percent during the week ended December 30, 2021 to 168.12 percent during the week under review.
The SPI for the consumption groups up to Rs17,733, Rs17,733 to Rs22,888 and Rs22,889 to Rs29,517 went down by 0.28 percent, 0.18 percent and 0.10 percent respectively, for the consumption groups from Rs29,518 to Rs44,175; it remained the same and for above Rs44,175, it increased by 0.22 percent.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 25 (49.02 percent) items increased, seven (13.73 percent) items decreased, and 19 (37.25 percent) items remained stable, said the PBS in weekly SPI data.
The commodities, which recorded increase in their average prices include potatoes (5.23 percent), chicken (4.45 percent), hi-speed diesel (2.75 percent), salt powdered (2.75 percent), petrol super (2.68 percent), bananas (2.56 percent), onions (2.12 percent), masoor (1.55 percent), pulse gram (1.46 percent), match box (1.45 percent), maash (1.44 percent), moong (0.98 percent), firewood whole 40kg (0.82 percent), mutton (0.71 percent), garlic (0.69 percent), sugar (0.67 percent), milk fresh (0.46 percent), Sufi washing soap (0.39 percent), beef with bone (0.34 percent), rice basmati broken (0.34 percent), cooked daal (0.29 percent), gur (0.17 percent), curd (0.17 percent), cooked beef (0.06 percent) and cooking oil Dalda or other similar brand (sn), 5 litre tin each (0.04 percent).
The commodities, which recorded decrease in their prices during the period under review, include tomatoes (18.28 percent), chilies powder (14.54 percent), eggs (2.23 percent), LPG (0.96 percent), rice irri-6/9 (0.17 percent), wheat flour bag 20kg (0.06 percent), and mustard oil (0.05 percent).
The commodities, whose prices remained unchanged during the period included bread plain, powdered milk, vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib 2.5kg tin each, vegetable ghee Dalda/Habib or other superior quality 1kg pouch each, tea Lipton Yellow Label, tea prepared, cigarettes Capstan 20’s packet each, long cloth 57” Gul Ahmed/Al Karam, shirting, lawn printed Gul Ahmed/al Karam, Georgette (average quality), gents sandal Bata pair, gents sponge chappal Bata pair, ladies sandal Bata pair, electricity charges, gas charges, energy saver Philips, telephone call charges and toilet soap Lifebuoy.—TAHIR AMIN
