The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based monthly inflation has soared to an all-time high of 36.4% on a year-on-year basis in April 2023 compared to an increase of 35.4% in the previous month and 13.4% in April 2022, showed data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Tuesday.
As per PBS data, the food group, which commands a significant weight i.e. 34.58% in the inflation reading, remained the major driver behind the increase. It increased from 176.38 in April 2022 to 261.17 in April 2023, a jump of over 48%.
According to the latest PBS data, inflation in urban and rural areas rose to 33.5% and 40.7% year-on-year, respectively.
Food inflation continued to remain high, making life even more difficult for citizens. Prices of non-perishable food items jumped to 51.5% while perishable food items rose to 29.23% compared to April last year.
The biggest jump was recorded in the alcoholic beverages and tobacco sub-index which surged to 133.53%.
Meanwhile, transport increased to 56.77%, housing and utilities to 16.94%, clothing and footwear to 21.62%, furnishing and household equipment maintenance to 40.53%, restaurants and hotels to 39.03%, miscellaneous to 38.84%, recreation and culture to 68.6%, health to 18.77%, education to 8.5% and communication to 6.75%.
