In May 2024, Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation dropped to 11.8 percent year-on-year, a significant decrease from the previous month’s 17.3 percent and May 2023’s 38 percent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). This marks the lowest inflation rate since November 2021. The average inflation for the first 11 months of fiscal year 2024 stood at 24.5 percent, compared to 29.2 percent in the same period of fiscal year 2023.
On a month-on-month basis, CPI inflation decreased to -3.2 percent in May 2024, down from a decrease of 0.4 percent in the previous month and an increase of 1.6 percent in May 2023.
In urban areas, CPI inflation rose to 14.3 percent year-on-year in May 2024, compared to 19.4 percent in the previous month and 35.1 percent in May 2023. In rural areas, CPI inflation increased to 8.2 percent year-on-year in May 2024, down from 14.5 percent in the previous month and 42.2 percent in May 2023.
Similarly, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation increased to 9.9 percent year-on-year in May 2024, compared to 13.9 percent in the previous month and 32.8 percent in May 2023. Core inflation, measured by non-food non-energy (NFNE), also saw changes on both year-on-year and month-on-month bases.
Overall, the data indicates a notable slowdown in inflation across various metrics, suggesting a positive trend in Pakistan’s economic landscape.
