The latest rise in inflation rates came as the Pakistani government led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif imposed massive new taxes and increased the prices of petroleum in order to fulfil the demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before releasing a financial bailout of $1.1 billion for Pakistan Image Courtesy Reuters
Islamabad: Even as Pakistan continues to battle a worsening economic crisis, record levels of inflation have proved to be a heavy burden on the Pakistani public.
According to a media report on Saturday, annual inflation hit a new record high of 38.42 per cent in cash-strapped Pakistan even as the Pakistani government continued to hike the prices of essential commodities.
The latest rise in inflation rates came as the Pakistani government led by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif imposed massive new taxes and increased the prices of petroleum in order to fulfil the demand of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before releasing a financial bailout of $1.1 billion for Pakistan under an already agreed $7 billion deal.
A report by The Express Tribune newspaper quoted the latest data of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics which said that the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), used to measure short-term inflation, rose to 38.42 per cent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis during the outgoing week.
The prices of 34 items increased during the outgoing week while five were reduced and 12 remained unchanged. The price hike ad rising inflation affected the group with a monthly income from Rs 29,518 to Rs 44,175 the most with an inflation impact of 39.65 per cent.
The SPI increased by 2.89 per cent on a weekly basis in comparison with the rise of 0.17 per cent during the previous week. During the previous week, the SPI inflation was recorded at 34.83 per cent on a yearly basis.
The latest increase in the prices of essential items has been attributed to the hike in fuel prices announced by the Pakistan government. This, in turn, caused the prices of essential items to take a big jump.
The SPI is used to gauge the rates of 51 essential items based on a survey of 50 markets in 17 cities across Pakistan.
A weekly rise was seen in the prices of petrol by 8.82 per cent, five litres of cooking oil by 8.65 per cent, one kg of ghee by 8.02 per cent, chicken meat by 7.49 per cent, and diesel by 6.49 per cent.
According to a PTI report, a week-on-week (WoW) decline was seen in the price of tomatoes by 14.27 per cent. This was followed by a reduction in the price of onions by 13.48 per cent on a weekly basis.
Similarly, the price of eggs went down by 4.24 per cent, garlic by 2.1 per cent, and flour by 0.1 per cent on a WoW basis.
The highest YoY basis increase was witnessed in the price of onions which went up by 433.44 per cent. This was followed by chicken meat, the price of which jacked up by 101.86 per cent on a yearly basis. Diesel became expensive by 81.36 per cent and eggs by 81.22 per cent on a YoY basis.
The items the prices of which were reduced on a YoY basis included tomatoes by 65.3 per cent and chilli powder by 7.42 per cent.
According to the statistics of the week under review, the inflation rate for the group with income of up to Rs 17,732 per month on an annual basis was 35.01 per cent. For the group with income from Rs 17,733 to Rs 22,888 per month, the inflation rate stood at 36.53 per cent.
Similarly, for the group having income from Rs 22,889 to Rs 29,517 per month, the inflation came to 38.43 per cent. For those having an income from Rs 29,518 to Rs 44,175 per month, the inflation rate was 39.65 per cent — the highest in terms of impact.
The rate of inflation has been 39.41 per cent for the group having a monthly income of more than Rs 44,176.
During the outgoing week, the Pakistan government imposed an additional financial burden on the people by imposing new taxes to raise 170 billion Pakistani rupees through a mini-budget bill. The unprecedented inflation has taken a heavy toll on every household in Pakistan.
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Updated Date:
February 18, 2023 19:32:02 IST
