ISLAMABAD: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) based weekly inflation for the week ended on March 15 for the combined income groups witnessed a decrease of 0.26 percent as compared to previous week.
The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 221.67 points against 222.25 points last week, according to latest data released by Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 0.76 per cent.
The weekly SPI has been computed with base 2007, 2008=100, covering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups.
Meanwhile, the SPI for the lowest income group up to Rs 8,000 also decreased by 0.29 percent as it went down from 209.95 points in the previous week to 209.35 points in the week under review.
As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs 8001 to 12,000, Rs 12,001 to 18,000, Rs 18,001 to 35,000 and for income groups of above Rs 35000 also decreased by 0.27 percent, 0.27 percent, 0.27 percent, and 024 per cent.
During the week under review, average prices of 14 items registered decrease, while 11 items increased with the remaining 28 items prices unchanged.
The items, which registered decrease in their prices during the week under review included onions, tomatoes, chicken farm, gur, garlic, LPG Cylinder, pulse moong, pulse mash, eggs farm, pulse gram, wheat, wheat flour, and bananas.
The items, which registered increase in prices included lawn printed, sugar, cooked beef, tea, rice basmati (broken), beef with bone, vegetable ghee (tin), mutton, cooking oil (tin), rice irri-6, and georgette.
The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included bread plain, fresh milk, curd, powdered milk, mustard oil, vegetable ghee (loose), potatoes, salt, red chilly powder, cooked pulses, tea prepared, cigarettes, long cloth, gents shoes, ladies shoes, shirting, electricity charges, gas charges, kerosene oil, firewood whole, electricity bulb, washing soap, match box, petrol, Hi Speed Diesel, telephone local charges, and bathing soap.