By Irfan Ahmed ISLAMABAD, June 02, (INP-Wealth): The sensitive price indicator (SPI) for the week ending May 26 witnessed an increase of 16.97% for the combined consumption group compared to the corresponding week of the last year, WealthPK reports. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the price per kilogram of onions saw an increase of 184.91%, tomatoes 180.60%, garlic 81.67%, mustard oil 66.66%, pulse masoor 64.36%, five-kilogram can of cooking oil 61.21% and the rate of per kilogram vegetable ghee witnessed an increase of 60.65%. The prices of non-food items also increased including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by 92.33%, washing soap by 42.28% and petrol by 37.42% per litre while the rate of diesel saw an increase of 29.63% per litre. On the other hand, a major decrease was observed in the prices of commodities including chilli powder by 43.42%, pulse moong 23.30%, bananas 19.86%, sugar 12.82%, potatoes 12.63% and gur (raw sugar) 0.89% while the electricity tariff was reduced by 11.71%. According to the PBS, the combined index was at 174.62 points on May 26, 2022, compared to 175.08 points on May 19. The index was recorded at 149.29 points on May 27, 2021. During the week, out of 51 items, the prices of 27 items (52.94%) increased and rates of five commodities (9.81%) decreased while the prices of 19 items (37.25%) remained stable. Wheat flour was one of the key commodities that caused a decrease in the weekly inflation, with a 12.25% reduction in its price on a week-on-week (WoW) basis. Meanwhile, compared to the previous week, the SPI for the combined consumption group in the week under review witnessed a decrease of 0.26%. The food items that saw a decrease in their prices included chilli powder (6.48%), chicken (4.41%), garlic (2.99%), and non-food item LPG (0.43%). On the other hand, the price of potatoes saw an increase of 8.43%, tomatoes 6.33%, eggs 6.29%, broken basmati rice 4.71%, mustard oil 4.16%, pulse masoor 3.93%, fresh milk 3.47%, onions 3.03%, pulse gram 2.58%, curd 2.35%, washing soap 2.13%, cooked beef 1.55%, beef 1.42%, pulse mash 1.33%, cooked pulses 1.32% and mutton 1.30% while the price of rice Irri-6/9 registered a hike of 1.24%. The prices of 19 items remained stable including plain bread, powdered salt, Lipton tea, tea prepared ordinary, cloths, gents’ sponge chappal Bata, ladies sandal Bata, electricity charges, natural gas tariff, petrol super, matchbox, hi-speed diesel and toilet soap besides the telephone call charges. The SPI for the lowest consumption group up to Rs17,732 observed a decrease of 0.38% and went down to 183.98 points this week from 184.69 points last week. On a yearly basis, the SPI across different income segments showed an increase across all quintiles ranging between 14.94% and 18.12%. Yearly inflation for the group with a monthly income from Rs29,518 to Rs44,175 increased by 17.21% while the highest income group with a monthly income above Rs44,175 saw an increase of 18.12%. Similarly, weekly inflation for the group with a monthly income from Rs22,889 to 29,517 decreased by 0.40%. In addition, a nominal difference was witnessed between the prices of the items at utility stores and that of the open market. The Utility Stores Corporation offers a special subsidy to consumers on pulses, flour, sugar, rice and ghee under the government’s relief package. The government has reduced the prices of different commodities at the utility stores including a 20-kilogram bag of flour by Rs450, broken basmati rice by Rs28.36 per kilogram, pulse masoor by Rs45.82, gram by Rs18.67, sugar by Rs15.91, ghee Manpasand by Rs135.83, ghee Handi by Rs 147.15, white gram by Rs43.39, super basmati rice by Rs38.32, and rice Sella by Rs34.18 per kg. [caption id="attachment_67832" align="aligncenter" width="696"] Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics[/caption]