In the week ending on December 21, 2023, the Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the Combined Group showed a noteworthy decline of 0.51 percent compared to the previous week.
However, in a year-over-year comparison with the corresponding period from the prior year, the SPI revealed a substantial increase of 42.6 percent.
As per the recent data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the combined index stood at 310, slightly lower than the 311.58 recorded on December 14, 2023. Last year, on December 22, 2022, the index was at 217.39.
Read More: Government Fires Power Secretary Rashid Mahmood Langrial
Among the 51 tracked items, the average prices of 18 items increased, 9 items witnessed a decrease, and 24 items remained stable.
There were significant declines observed in the prices of potatoes (13.17 percent), petrol super (4.97 percent), diesel (4.68 percent), tomatoes (3.45 percent), and sugar (1.16 percent) during the week.
Conversely, notable increases were noted in the prices of eggs (10.42 percent), firewood whole (1.23 percent), onions (1.19 percent), pulse moong (0.88 percent), and pulse gramme (0.79 percent).
Read More: Banks Will Be Closed for Three Days Straight
The weekly SPI percentage change across income groups showed a uniform decrease, ranging between -0.39 percent and -0.59 percent, indicating a decline for all quantiles.
On a yearly basis, the SPI change across different income segments indicated an increase ranging between 35.13 percent and 40.93 percent across all quantiles.
The lowest-income group experienced a 35.13 percent increase, while the highest-income group recorded a 40.93 percent increase on a yearly basis.
The average price of Sona urea surged to Rs4,493 per 50 kg bag, marking a 1.23 percent increase from last week and a substantial 74.09 percent surge compared to prices from the previous year.
Meanwhile, the average cement price was recorded at Rs1,235 per 50 kg bag, showing a 0.52 percent decrease from the previous week but a notable 18.5 percent increase compared to prices from the previous year.
