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Inflation based on the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended October 6 registered an increase of 0.29 percent due to increase in food prices, says the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The year-on-year trend shows an increase of 29.44 percent mainly due to the increase in the price of tomatoes (305.60 percent), onions (167.80 percent), diesel (92.08 percent), gasoline (76.07 percent), pulsed grams (70.02 percent) , pulse masoor (64.65 percent), cooking oil 5 liters (61.43 percent), mustard oil (61.21 percent), laundry soap (60.68 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (57, 66 per cent), pulse porridge (55.50 per cent), vegetable ghee 1 kg (55.37 per cent) and pulse moong (48.34 per cent) while a decline was observed in Q1 electricity prices (45.61 per cent) , chili peppers (42.08 percent), sugar (18.09 percent) and guru (3.16 percent).

The SPI for the week under review in the above group was recorded at 205.73 points against 205.13 points registered in the previous week, according to the latest PBS data released on Friday.

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During the week, out of 51 items, 17 (33.33 percent) prices increased, 14 (27.45 percent) items decreased and 20 (39.22 percent) items remained stable.

SPI for consumption group up to Rs17,732, Rs17,732-22,888, Rs22,889-29,517 and Rs29,518-44,175 increased by 1.22 percent, 1.05 percent, 0.75 percent and 0.51 percent over 4 .75 percent and .51 percent, respectively, a decrease of .08 percent.

Among the items that saw average price increase during the week over the previous one are tomatoes (27.40 per cent), onions (10.22 per cent), bananas (2.24 per cent), nido milk powder 390 gm polybag each (1.18 per cent ), sugar ( 0.65 percent), prepared tea (0.57 percent), eggs (0.57 percent), gur (0.55 percent), firewood whole 40 kg (0.42 percent), clean bread ( 0.33 percent), sufi laundry soap (0.29 percent), rice irri- 6/9 (0.19 percent), mutton (0.18 percent), cooked beef (0.15 percent), fresh milk (0.09 percent), broken basmati rice (0.05 percent) and cottage cheese (0.02 percent).

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Commodities that recorded a decline in average prices included petrol super (5.29 per cent), pulse masoor (5.16 per cent), potato (4.87 per cent), high speed diesel (4.87 per cent), LPG (4.49 percent), pulse gram ( 3.06 percent), pulse porridge (1.67 percent), pulse melon (0.98 percent), garlic (0.73 percent), chicken (0.52 percent), mustard oil ( 0.45 per cent), wheat flour bag 20 kg (0.36 per cent), cooking oil dalda or other similar brands (sn), 5 liter tin each (0.22 per cent) and dalda/habib vegetable ghee 2.5 kg each cans (0.08 percent).