The SPI for the combined consumption group increased by 21.22 percent in the week under review compared to the same week the previous year, according to a study released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The weekly SPI includes 51 basic items for all spending groups and 17 urban centers with a base year of 2015–16 = 100.
The SPI for the lowest consumption category, which is up to Rs 17,732, dropped from 303.24 points last week to 299.70 points, a 1.17 percent decline.
According to the PBS report, the price of beef went up by Rs 10.31 per kg during the course of the week, while the price of mutton went up by Rs 19.03 per kg and the price of chicken went up by just Rs 1 per kg.
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As per the report, 16 essential commodities’ prices have been decreased during the week as tomatoes’ prices slashed by Rs 26.82 per kg, onion by Rs 27.67 per kg and garlic by Rs 46.44 per kg.
A 20-kg bag of wheat flour witnessed a decrease of Rs 72.54 and pulse gram down by Rs 2.59 per kg. The PBS report also read that the prices of 15 essential items remained stable during the week.
Earlier on May 10, it was reported that the weekly inflation witnessed a decrease of 1.39 per cent for the combined consumption groups during the week ended on May 9.
Based on PBS data, the SPI for the reviewed week in the aforementioned group was 312.56 points, whereas it was 316.95 points the previous week.
The SPI for the combined consumption group increased by 22.32 percent during the review week as compared to the same week the previous year.