Weekly inflation continues upward spiral

Dawn reported that the Sensitive Price Index rose 8.62 per cent year-on-year in the week ending September 10, driven mainly by costlier onions and petroleum products, based on Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday. Onion prices climbed 125.52 per cent, LPG rose 55.42 per cent, diesel gained 45.26 per cent and petrol went up 39.10 per cent. Wheat flour, electricity for Q1 and chillies powder also recorded steep gains, while potatoes, chicken and sugar were cheaper than a year earlier.

Week-on-week, the index edged up 0.23 per cent, with petrol, diesel and LPG leading the rises. Of the 51 items tracked, 14 became dearer, 10 became cheaper and 27 stayed unchanged during the week. Dawn linked the fuel increases to the Gulf conflict, which has been ongoing since Feb 28 and has disrupted world oil prices. Manufacturers also passed higher freight and transport costs onto buyers.

Wheat sold for Rs2,950 to Rs3,200 per 20kg bag in Karachi, the costliest among the cities reviewed. In Islamabad and Quetta, fine flour was priced at Rs173 per kg, the data showed.