By Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), declined by 0.33 percent during the week ended May 21, 2026, mainly due to lower prices of chicken, petroleum products, electricity charges and pulses, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The SPI, which tracks prices of 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 urban centres, serves as a key indicator for assessing short-term inflation trends in the country.

According to PBS, chicken prices recorded the sharpest weekly decline, falling 8.56 percent during the week under review. Electricity charges for the first consumption slab decreased by 6.08 percent, while garlic prices fell 3.53 percent and pulse moong declined 1.45 percent. Petrol and diesel prices also dropped by 1.21 percent each.

Other items that recorded lower prices included LPG, pulse gram, bananas, eggs and pulse mash, contributing to the overall easing in weekly inflation.

However, the decline in SPI inflation was partly offset by increases in several food and household items.

Tomato prices registered the highest weekly increase, rising 7.17 percent during the week, followed by onions at 6.08 percent and wheat flour at 1.84 percent. Potato prices increased 0.87 percent, while cooked daal, tea prepared, cooking oil and curd also posted gains.

Among non-food items, long cloth prices increased 0.97 percent, georgette rose 0.95 percent and shirting prices edged up 0.14 percent during the week under review.

Out of the 51 items included in the SPI basket, prices rose for 26, fell for 11 and remained unchanged for 14, indicating that inflationary pressures persisted across several essential commodities despite easing in selected categories.

On a year-on-year basis, however, weekly inflation increased by 14.47 percent compared with the corresponding week last year.

Among the major contributors to annual inflation, onion prices increased 68.33 percent, followed by petrol at 62.24 percent and diesel at 60.90 percent. Wheat flour prices rose 59.45 percent, while LPG prices increased 50.73 percent compared with the same week last year.

Electricity charges for the first consumption slab were 43.30 percent higher on a yearly basis, while tomato prices rose 34.58 percent and mutton prices increased 15.86 percent compared with the corresponding week of last year.

Meanwhile, several food items remained cheaper than a year earlier. Potato prices declined 42.02 percent, followed by eggs at 24.47 percent, pulse gram at 21.84 percent and chicken at 21.79 percent. Sugar prices were 14.95 percent lower on an annual basis.

The PBS data further showed that weekly inflation eased across all expenditure groups during the latest week.

The SPI for the lowest expenditure quintile declined by 0.06 percent, while the second expenditure group fell 0.28 percent and the third group decreased 0.15 percent. Inflation for the fourth expenditure group declined 0.13 percent, while the highest expenditure group recorded a weekly decrease of 0.36 percent.

On an annual basis, inflation stood at 11.79 percent for the lowest expenditure group and 14.17 percent for the highest expenditure group, while the overall annual SPI inflation rate was recorded at 14.47 percent.

Credit: INP-WealthPk