Oil shock keeps SPI in double digits

The Express Tribune reported that the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) rose 11.92 per cent year-on-year for the week ending September 24, according to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data. That marks a second straight week in double digits, up from 10.64 per cent a week earlier, with a weekly gain of 0.99 per cent. The publication linked the pressure to the prolonged US-Iran conflict, which kept global oil prices elevated.

Energy items remained among the main drivers, with LPG up 63.97 per cent, electricity charges for Q1 up 58.59 per cent, diesel up 51.80 per cent and petrol up 47.49 per cent over the year. Food also weighed on the index, as onion prices jumped 115.98 per cent and wheat flour became 32.41 per cent dearer. Brent crude briefly topped $106 a barrel before easing to $103.64, with the US-Iran conflict and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz still uncertain.

The burden differed across income groups: the top expenditure quintile saw a 12.31 per cent rise, while the lowest-income group recorded 9.69 per cent. Separately, monthly CPI climbed 11.1 per cent year-on-year in August, up from 9.2 per cent in July, with rural inflation at 12.2 per cent and urban at 10.4 per cent.