By Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), increased by 1.01% for the week ended April 2, 2026, mainly driven by higher LPG, eggs, and chicken prices, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

The SPI tracks price movements of 51 essential commodities collected from 50 markets across 17 cities, providing a short-term snapshot of inflation trends.

The weekly increase was led by LPG, which surged 13.28%, followed by eggs (2.23%), chicken (2.13%), pulse mash (1.74%), mutton (1.54%), fresh milk (0.63%), curd (0.60%), georgette (0.42%), shirting (0.41%), beef (0.39%), pulse masoor (0.28%), and lawn printed (0.10%).

On the other hand, several essential items recorded price declines. Tomatoes showed the sharpest drop, falling 6.03%, followed by garlic (3.38%), potatoes (1.22%), onions (1.21%), wheat flour (0.92%), bananas (0.50%), mustard oil (0.33%), firewood (0.19%), and sugar (0.15%).

During the week under review, out of 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 15 items (29.41%) increased, 9 items (17.65%) decreased, while 27 items (52.94%) remained unchanged.

On a year-on-year basis, the SPI increased by 9.12% compared to the corresponding week last year. Major increases were recorded in LPG, which rose 53.69%, followed by diesel (29.94%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), petrol (26.17%), wheat flour (24.85%), onions (17.57%), chilies powder (15.20%), mutton (14.00%), beef (12.94%), powdered milk (10.11%), rice basmati broken (6.51%), and gur (5.69%).

Conversely, several commodities were cheaper than a year ago. Potatoes recorded the largest decline, down 49.65%, followed by pulse gram (17.52%), chicken (16.08%), salt powder (12.55%), sugar (11.48%), pulse masoor (11.32%), garlic (10.39%), and eggs (7.27%).

Inflation trends varied across consumption groups. On a weekly basis, SPI increased by 0.70% in Q1, 0.75% in Q2, 0.82% in Q3, 0.94% in Q4, and 1.15% in Q5, with the combined rate at 1.01%. On a year-on-year basis, inflation rose 7.46% for Q1, 9.28% for Q2, 8.24% for Q3, 7.92% for Q4, and 8.70% for Q5, while the overall combined increase stood at 9.12%.

The latest SPI reading indicates continued upward pressure on short-term inflation, largely driven by energy and food items, despite some relief from declines in selected commodities.

Credit: INP-WealthPk