Qudsia Bano

Wheat flour recorded the highest weekly price increase among essential commodities, rising by 5.07% during the week ended January 08, 2026, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) under its Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI).

The SPI, which measures short-term inflation based on weekly price movements of 51 essential items across 17 urban centres, shows that the sharp increase in wheat flour prices was the most significant contributor among items that registered week-on-week gains during the reporting period.

PBS data indicates that the average price of a 20-kilogram bag of wheat flour increased from Rs2,241.25 in the previous week to Rs2,354.86 during the week under review. On a year-on-year basis, wheat flour prices were 31.12% higher compared to the corresponding week last year, reflecting a substantial annual increase.

The weekly SPI analysis shows that wheat flour was among the major items driving the overall 0.12% week-on-week increase in the combined SPI. Other food items that registered notable weekly price increases included chicken, garlic, chilies powder, sugar, bread and rice basmati broken, though wheat flour recorded the largest percentage increase among all commodities.

According to the SPI breakdown, prices of 21 out of 51 items increased during the week, with wheat flour topping the list in terms of percentage change. The increase in wheat flour prices affected all consumption quintiles, as the commodity carries a significant weight in the SPI basket for households across income groups.

The SPI data further shows that while several food items recorded price increases, a number of items remained unchanged or registered declines during the same period. However, the magnitude of the increase in wheat flour prices distinguished it from other commodities that experienced comparatively moderate changes.

On a year-on-year basis, wheat flour remained one of the most prominent contributors to SPI inflation. The 31.12% annual increase placed it among the items with the highest year-on-year growth in prices, alongside gas charges for the first quarter and certain food items.

Credit: INP-WealthPk