Qudsia Bano

All five consumption quintiles recorded a week-on-week increase in inflation during the week ended January 08, 2026, as reflected in the latest Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The SPI, which tracks short-term price movements of essential commodities, is compiled weekly on the basis of prices of 51 items collected from 50 markets across 17 urban centres. The index is calculated separately for five expenditure-based consumption quintiles to capture the impact of price changes on households across different income levels.

According to PBS data, the lowest consumption quintile (Q1) registered a 0.12% week-on-week increase in the SPI during the reporting period. The second, third and fourth quintiles (Q2, Q3 and Q4) each recorded a slightly higher increase of 0.13%, while the highest consumption quintile (Q5) registered a 0.11% week-on-week increase. The combined SPI for all quintiles also rose by 0.12% compared to the previous week.

The SPI figures show that the week-on-week increase was uniform across income groups, indicating that short-term price pressures were felt across the consumption spectrum. The variation in weekly increases among quintiles remained narrow, ranging between 0.11% and 0.13%, according to the PBS executive summary.

In absolute terms, the SPI index for Q1 increased from 323.98 in the previous week to 324.37 during the week under review. For Q2, the index rose from 324.53 to 324.96, while Q3 increased from 346.44 to 346.88. The SPI for Q4 moved up from 333.45 to 333.88, and for Q5 from 332.39 to 332.74 during the same period.

PBS data indicates that the combined SPI increased from 333.96 in the previous week to 334.35 during the reporting week. The rise followed a decline recorded in the preceding week and marked a return to positive weekly inflation across all consumption groups.

The SPI executive summary notes that week-on-week increases were driven by price movements in selected food and non-food items within the SPI basket. While several items saw price increases, others remained unchanged or declined, resulting in a modest but broad-based increase across all quintiles.

Credit: INP-WealthPk