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KARACHI: All-time high price of wheat flour pushed weekly inflation up 1.80% week-on-week and 46.65% year-on-year during the seven-day period that ended on March 23, 2023, pointing to even tougher times ahead.
Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) data issued on Friday attributed the surge in the sensitive price indicator (SPI) to the increase in prices of tomatoes (71.77%), wheat flour (42.32%), potatoes (11.47%), bananas (11.07%), tea (7.34%), georgette (2.11%), lawn (1.77%), long cloth (1.58%), pulse mash (1.57%), prepared tea (1.32%), and gur (1.03%).
On the other hand, the PBS noted a decrease in the prices of chicken (8.14%), chilli powder (2.31%), LPG (1.31%), mustard oil and garlic (1.19%) each, pulse gram and onions (1.06%) each, vegetable ghee 1kg (0.83%), cooking oil 5 litres (0.21%), pulse moong (0.17%), pulse masoor (0.15%) and eggs (0.03%).
For the week under review, the SPI was recorded at 250.66 points against 246.22 points registered last week and 170.92 points recorded during the week ended March 24, 2022.
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The average price of wheat flour has jumped up 42.32% WoW and 120.66% YoY to stand at Rs2,586.37/20kg. Compared to last week, the price has jumped up by Rs769.12 from Rs1,817.25; from last year the price is higher by Rs1,414.29 from Rs1,172.08.
As per the city-wise breakdown of wheat flour bag prices given by PBS, the essential commodity was the most expensive for residents of Quetta at Rs2,889.99/20kg bag.
The PBS compiles the SPI via collecting prices of 51 essential items from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country.
During the week, out of 51 items, prices of 26 (50.98%) items increased, 12 (23.53%) items decreased and prices of 13 (25.49%) items remained unchanged.
The PBS data attributed the YoY rise in the SPI to the jump in the prices of onions (228.28%), cigarettes (165.88%), wheat flour (120.66%), gas charges for Q1 (108.38%), diesel (102.84%), tea (94.60%), bananas (89.84%), rice irri-6/9 (81.51%), broken basmati rice (81.22%), petrol (81.17%), eggs (79.56%), pulse moong (68.64%), potatoes (57.21%) and pulse mash (56.46%).