By Farooq Awan

Core inflation measured by the Non-Food Non-Energy (NFNE) index remained above 7% in February 2026, according to the Monthly Review on Price Indices (Base Year 2015-16) issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

In urban areas, core inflation under the NFNE measure was recorded at 7.1% on a year-on-year basis in February 2026, slightly lower than 7.2% in January 2026 and 7.8% in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, urban NFNE increased by 0.2% in February, compared to a 1.0% rise in January 2026 and a 0.3% increase in February 2025.

In rural areas, NFNE inflation stood at 8.3% year-on-year in February 2026, unchanged from January 2026 but lower than 10.4% recorded in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, rural NFNE increased by 0.4% in February 2026, compared to a 1.1% rise in the previous month and a 0.4% increase in February 2025.

The report also provides core inflation measured through the 20% weighted trimmed mean. Under this measure, urban core inflation rose 5.1% year-on-year in February 2026, up from 4.9% in January 2026 and 4.6% in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, the trimmed mean in urban areas rose by 0.2% in February, compared to a 0.5% increase in January 2026 and a 0.1% increase in February 2025.

In rural areas, the 20% weighted trimmed mean increased by 5.6% year-on-year in February 2026, compared to 5.4% in January 2026 and 5.2% in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, rural trimmed mean inflation rose by 0.3% in February, compared to 0.7% in January 2026 and 0.1% in February 2025.

The report provides the recent trend in core inflation indicators. Urban NFNE declined from 7.8% in February 2025 to 6.9% in June 2025 before increasing again to 7.5% in October 2025 and 7.2% in January 2026, and then slightly easing to 7.1% in February 2026. Rural NFNE followed a similar pattern, decreasing from 10.4% in February 2025 to 7.8% in August 2025 before rising again to 8.4% in October 2025 and remaining at 8.3% in January and February 2026.

The trimmed mean measure shows that urban core inflation ranged between 3.8% and 6.0% from April to October 2025, while rural trimmed mean moved between 3.3% and 6.8% during the same period, before settling at 5.6% in February 2026.

The PBS report indicates that both NFNE and trimmed mean measures continued to show positive year-on-year growth in February 2026 in urban and rural areas, with rural core inflation remaining higher than urban under the NFNE measure during the month under review.

Credit: INP-WealthPk