ISLAMABAD: The country’s inflation rates remain under 4.53% for the financial year ended June 30, 2015, mainly due to huge cut in oil prices.
According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, the Consumer Price Index recorded an increase of 4.53% and the Wholesale Price Index actually recorded a decline of 0.30% for fiscal 2015. The government set an annual inflation target of 8pc for the fiscal year 2014-15. However, the central bank recently revised its target to between 4.5pc and 5.5pc.
The PBS data shows that on a monthly basis, inflation was steady at 3.2pc in June 2015 compared to the previous month. According to an official report, inflation has moved at slow pace since 2013 despite some policy adjustments.
In 2014-15, crude oil prices dipped by 45pc, followed by wheat 31pc, palm oil 27pc, sugar 26pc, soybean oil 25pc, urea 11pc and tea 8pc. Core inflation – which is measured by excluding volatile food and energy prices – slowed for the ninth consecutive month to 4.6pc in June 2015 compared to 4.9pc in the previous month.
Falling inflation has also encouraged the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to cut its key interest rate to a 42-year low of 7pc. Core inflation has remained subdued since November 2014 because of tight monetary policy and reduction in food and fuel prices.
The food items whose prices increased included potatoes (31.72pc), tomatoes (22.58pc), chicken (14.91pc), besan (8.32pc), pulse gram (7.07pc), sugar (4.80pc), eggs (4.28pc), pulse mash (3.49pc), gur (2.98pc), and gram whole (2.43pc).
