KARACHI:

Pakistan’s Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) declined for the sixth consecutive week, driven by a continued drop in essential food prices. Key contributors to the decrease included tomatoes, potatoes, onions, chicken, and pulse gram, reflecting easing inflationary pressures in the market.

For the period ending February 6, 2025, Pakistan’s Weekly SPI decreased by 0.21% week-on-week (WoW), according to Topline Research. Major price declines were observed in tomatoes (-11%), potatoes (-6%), onions (-4%), chicken (-4%), and pulse gram (-2%), among others. On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, Pakistan’s weekly SPI clocked in at 1.2%, marking the lowest level in nearly seven years, the brokerage house added.

The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) also reported a 0.21% decline in SPI for the week, attributing the drop to lower prices of essential food and energy items. Tomatoes saw the sharpest decline at 11.42%, followed by potatoes (-5.99%), onions (-4.38%), chicken (-3.95%), pulse gram (-1.72%), LPG (-1.08%), pulse mash (-0.82%), rice IRRI-6/9 (-0.54%), and mustard oil (-0.47%).

Conversely, certain commodities experienced price increases during the week. Bananas recorded the highest price rise at 3.25%, followed by diesel (2.67%), sugar (1.78%), garlic (0.44%), powdered salt (0.39%), petrol (0.38%), cigarettes (0.25%), long cloth (0.24%), powdered milk (0.07%), cooking oil (5 litres) (0.04%), and rice basmati broken (0.03%).

Out of the 51 items tracked, prices of 13 items (25.49%) increased, 16 items (31.37%) decreased, and 22 items (43.14%) remained stable.