By Moaaz Manzoor

The National Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 6.98% on a year-on-year basis in February 2026 compared to February 2025, according to the Monthly Review on Price Indices (Base Year 2015-16) released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI recorded an increase of 0.27% in February 2026 over January 2026. The index number rose to 282.39 in February compared to 281.62 in January and 263.95 in February 2025, reflecting a 6.98% increase over the corresponding month of last year.

The PBS report shows that headline inflation accelerated compared to the previous month. In January 2026, CPI inflation increased by 5.8% year-on-year, while in February 2025 it stood at 1.5%. The February 2026 reading of 7.0%, therefore, represents an increase of 1.2 percentage points over January 2026 and 5.5 percentage points over the corresponding month of last year.

The PBS data indicate that inflation fluctuated over the past year. After declining steadily through late 2024 and early 2025, the CPI slowed to 0.3% year-on-year in April 2025 before rising to 3.5% in May and 3.2% in June. It increased further to 4.1% in July, eased to 3.1% in August, then accelerated to 5.8% in September and 6.2% in October. Inflation stood at 6.1% in November and 5.6% in December, before edging up to 5.8% in January 2026 and climbing to 7.0% in February 2026.

On a month-on-month basis, the CPI increased by 0.27% in February 2026, compared to a 0.4% increase in January 2026 and a decrease of 0.8% in February 2025. The data show that monthly changes have remained relatively moderate in recent months, following sharper fluctuations observed earlier in the fiscal year.

The report also provides period average figures. During July–February FY2025–26, the average CPI inflation stood at 5.46%, compared to 5.85% during the same period of FY2024–25 and 27.96% in July–February FY2023–24. In terms of February-over-February changes, inflation was recorded at 6.98% in February 2026, compared to 1.52% in February 2025 and 23.06% in February 2024.

The CPI (National) covers both food and non-food components of the consumer basket. In February 2026, the general index recorded a 0.27% month-on-month increase and a 6.98% year-on-year increase, as reported.

According to PBS, these figures summarize the overall price movement at the national level for the month under review and provide a comparison with both the previous month and the corresponding month of the last year.

Credit: INP-WealthPk