Weekly SPI inflation down 0.04pc

Business Recorder reported that Sensitive Price Index-based inflation dipped 0.04 percent in the week to October 16, 2026, based on figures issued on Friday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The decline was driven mainly by cheaper tomatoes, which dropped 23.05 percent, along with onions, down 4.90 percent, and bananas, down 2.59 percent.

Petrol fell 0.70 percent, basmati rice 0.65 percent and sugar 0.62 percent, while gram pulses rose 4.97 percent, wheat flour 3.36 percent and chicken 3.31 percent. Of 51 items tracked, 23 rose and together make up 45.10 percent of the basket, seven fell, and 21 stayed unchanged.

On a year-on-year basis, the index rose 11.38 percent, led by onions up 75.19 percent, LPG up 68.95 percent, Q1 electricity up 58.59 percent, petrol up 49.60 percent and diesel up 43.98 percent. Tomatoes, potatoes and sugar were among the items that declined over the same period.