Fuel hikes push SPI into double digits

The Express Tribune reported that the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) climbed back into double digits, with year-on-year inflation at 10.64 per cent in the week ending September 17. That figure was sharply higher than the 8.62 per cent recorded a week earlier and 8.35 per cent two weeks before. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics published the numbers on Friday.

Weekly prices rose 0.49 per cent, led by petroleum products: diesel gained 7.29 per cent, petrol 6.40 per cent and LPG 3.26 per cent over the week. Compared with a year earlier, energy items were far higher, with LPG up 60.42 per cent, diesel 54.21 per cent and petrol 48 per cent, while first-quarter electricity charges rose 33.54 per cent. The bureau's data records the price moves without tying them to the Middle East situation, although tensions in the region have stirred worries about fuel supply.

Food costs added to the squeeze, as onion prices climbed 117.77 per cent year-on-year and wheat flour rose 33.27 per cent, while potatoes, sugar, eggs and chicken were cheaper than a year ago. Spending groups were affected unevenly, with the top band at 11.13 per cent and the lowest at 8.79 per cent. Across 51 essential items priced in 17 cities, 19 rose, nine fell and 23 were unchanged during the week.