By Moaaz Manzoor

Pakistan’s weekly inflation, measured through the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), decreased by 0.69% for the week ended April 16, 2026, mainly due to a sharp decline in diesel, chicken, onions, and LPG 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 decline was led by diesel, which dropped 25.77%, followed by chicken (10.07%), onions (6.63%), LPG (4.15%), wheat flour (3.34%), petrol (3.10%), bananas (2.78%), garlic (1.29%), mustard oil (0.80%), pulse mash (0.74%), firewood (0.58%), and potatoes (0.56%).

On the other hand, several essential items recorded price increases. Tomatoes showed the highest rise of 6.27%, followed by bread (3.27%), eggs (2.09%), fresh milk (1.15%), lawn printed cloth (1.06%), washing soap (0.66%), long cloth (0.52%), curd (0.46%), shirting and mutton (0.21% each), powdered milk (0.16%), and vegetable ghee 2.5kg (0.07%).

During the week under review, out of 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 17 items (33.33%) increased, 17 items (33.33%) decreased, while 17 items (33.33%) remained unchanged.

On a year-on-year basis, the SPI increased by 12.16% compared to the corresponding week last year. Major increases were recorded in tomatoes, which surged 69.35%, followed by LPG (60.40%), diesel (49.22%), petrol (44.10%), onions (42.67%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), wheat flour (28.80%), chilies powder (15.20%), mutton (14.67%), beef (13.27%), powdered milk (10.41%), and garlic (9.51%).

Conversely, several commodities were cheaper than a year ago. Potatoes recorded the largest decline, falling 45.43%, followed by pulse gram (20.00%), salt powder (12.78%), sugar (11.65%), pulse masoor (11.63%), chicken (8.69%), and pulse moong (1.87%).

Inflation trends varied across consumption groups. On a weekly basis, SPI declined by 0.36% in Q1, 0.44% in Q2, 0.48% in Q3, 0.59% in Q4, and 0.85% in Q5, for a combined rate of 0.69%. On a year-on-year basis, inflation rose 9.82% for Q1, 11.91% for Q2, 10.77% for Q3, 10.77% for Q4, and 12.02% for Q5, while the overall combined increase stood at 12.16%.

The latest SPI reading indicates a temporary easing in short-term inflationary pressures, primarily driven by declines in fuel and selected food prices, although year-on-year inflation remains elevated.

Credit: INP-WealthPk