The price of essential goods, particularly that of wheat flour, rice, pulses and other products, spiked to 48.35 percent in the week ended May 4, 2023.
The Sensitive Price Index (SPI), comprising of 51 essential commodities, rose by 1.05% in the week under review, compared to the week-ending on May 4.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the SPI for the week under review in the above-mentioned group was recorded at 254.84 points as compared to 252.20 points during the past week.
The prices of several essential items have soared, with year-on-year increases recorded in Wheat Flour (177.61 percent), Cigarettes (146.44 percent), Potatoes (123.00 percent), Gas Charges for Q1 (108.38 percent), Tea Lipton (104.28 percent), Gents Sponge Chappal (100.33 percent), Diesel (99.39 percent), Eggs (95.45 percent), Rice Basmati Broken (89.31 percent), Bananas (87.86 percent), Petrol (87.81 percent), Rice Irri-6/9 (84.43 percent), Pulse Moong (68.44 percent), Bread (62.83 percent) and Pulse Mash (60.59 percent).
As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 48.35 percent.
The PBS further reported that out of 51 items, prices of 30 items (58.82 percent) increased, 9 items (17.65 percent) decreased, and 12 items (23.53 percent) remained stable during the week.
The prices of several food items saw a significant increase, including Chicken (8.91 percent), Potatoes (3.99 percent), Powdered Milk (3.81 percent), Pulse Gram (1.96 percent), Pulse Masoor (1.83 percent), Eggs (1.81 percent), Mutton (1.71 percent), Pulse Mash (1.58 percent), Cooked Daal (1.36 percent), and Bread (1.13 percent). Additionally, the prices of non-food items, such as Gents Sponge Chappal (58.05 percent), Gents Sandal (33.36 percent), Ladies Sandal (14.31 percent), and Washing Soap (1.27 percent), also increased significantly.
