Pakistan’s short-term inflation eased slightly in the week ended October 29, 2026, with the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) falling 0.35% from the previous week, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on October 30. Despite the weekly decline, the cost of essential items remains 11.32% higher than a year earlier.
What happened?
The PBS released its weekly SPI for the week ended October 29, 2026. The combined index stood at 373.51, down from 374.84 in the previous week, while the same week last year recorded 335.53. The indicator tracks 51 essential commodities collected from 50 markets across 17 cities, making it the quickest official read on household prices.
Key details
- The SPI fell 0.35% week-on-week, but rose 11.32% year-on-year.
- Of the 51 monitored items, prices of 15 increased during the week, 12 decreased, and 24 remained unchanged.
- The largest weekly declines were electricity charges for the first consumption quarter, down 3.92%, followed by chicken, down 2.95%, eggs, down 2.81%, wheat flour, down 0.83%, and LPG, down 0.73%.
- Tomatoes recorded the sharpest weekly increase, jumping 34.91%.
- On an annual basis, LPG recorded the highest increase at 106.86%, followed by electricity charges for the first consumption quarter at 52.38%, diesel at 45.13%, and petrol at 43.61%.
- The yearly SPI increase was 8.07% for the lowest expenditure group and 12.13% for the highest expenditure group.
What it means for people in Pakistan
The weekly dip offers some short-term relief, particularly through lower electricity, chicken, egg, and flour prices, but the annual figure shows household budgets are still under real pressure, especially from energy costs. LPG more than doubling over the year is the heaviest burden for households that rely on it for cooking and heating as winter approaches. Shoppers should still expect sharp week-to-week swings in fresh items like tomatoes, even when the overall index edges down.
Source: https://pkrevenue.com/pakistan-spi-inflation-rises-11-32-percent/
