By Abdul Ghani

Pakistan’s inflation rebounded sharply in April 2026, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rising by 10.9% on a year-on-year basis, marking a significant increase from 7.3% recorded in the previous month.

The increase is documented in the “Monthly Review on Price Indices April 2026” released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, according to official documents available with Wealth Pakistan. The report also shows that on a month-on-month basis, inflation increased by 2.5% in April, compared to a rise of 1.2% in March.

The data indicates a clear acceleration in inflationary pressures following a relatively moderate trend in the preceding months. In April 2025, inflation had remained at just 0.3% on a year-on-year basis, highlighting the sharp contrast with the current figures.

A breakdown of CPI data shows that both urban and rural areas experienced notable increases. Urban inflation rose to 11.1% on a year-on-year basis in April 2026, up from 7.4% in March, while rural inflation reached 10.6%, compared to 7.2% in the previous month. On a monthly basis, urban inflation increased by 2.7% and rural inflation by 2.1%, reflecting broad-based price pressures across regions.

The report further shows that the overall CPI index increased by 2.48% compared to March 2026, indicating a continued upward trend in prices. The rise was observed across multiple expenditure groups, contributing to the overall inflation increase during the month.

Food and non-alcoholic beverages, which carry the highest weight in the CPI basket, recorded a year-on-year increase of 7.63%. Housing, water, electricity, gas and fuels saw a sharper rise of 16.84% over the same period, while transport costs surged by 29.88%, making it one of the most significant contributors to the overall inflation rate.

Other sectors also witnessed increases, with education rising by 8.27%, health by 7.08%, and restaurants and hotels by 5.28% on a year-on-year basis. Clothing and footwear recorded a 6.20% increase, while miscellaneous goods and services rose by 18.32%.

The data shows that inflationary pressures were not limited to consumer prices alone. The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks essential commodities, increased by 10.1% year-on-year in April 2026, while the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose by 13.6% over the same period.

On a month-on-month basis, SPI increased by 2.0%, while WPI recorded a significant jump of 5.1%, indicating rising cost pressures at the wholesale level.

The document also highlights that inflation trends have shown considerable variation over the past year. CPI inflation stood at 5.6% in December 2025, increased to 7.0% in February 2026, and further accelerated to 7.3% in March before reaching 10.9% in April.

The latest figures indicate renewed upward momentum in inflation, with price increases observed across key sectors of the economy, as reflected in the official data.

Credit: INP-WealthPk