Islamabad, Mar 8, 2025: The short-term inflation rate, gauged by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), experienced a year-on-year decline of 0.87% in the week ending March 6.
This marks the first time in nearly seven years that inflation has contracted, primarily due to a drop in retail prices of tea and perishable goods.
On a weekly basis, SPI-based inflation dipped by 0.09%, according to official figures released on Friday.
The overall deceleration in short-term inflation is largely attributed to the high base effect from the previous year.
Additionally, prices for most essential commodities remained steady, with the exception of wheat flour, which saw a slight increase.
Despite a downward trend in global markets, the retail costs of sugar and edible oil continued to rise domestically.
Among the items that registered a week-on-week price reduction were onions (-5.59%), Lipton tea (-4.47%), garlic (-3.89%), tomatoes (-3.60%), gram pulses (-3.49%), mash pulses (-2.82%), potatoes (-2.60%), diesel (-2%), masoor pulses (-1.50%), and petrol (-0.24%).
Conversely, the products that saw a price surge included bananas (9.79%), sugar (3.15%), LPG (2.64%), eggs (2.52%), lawn fabric (0.55%), mutton (0.33%), wheat flour (0.22%), long cloth and jaggery (0.17% each), cigarettes and beef (0.06% each), and IRRI-6/9 rice (0.01%).
On an annual scale, onion prices fell significantly by 64.92%, followed by tomatoes (57.05%) and wheat flour (36.81%).
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The latest figures indicate a mixed trend in the market, where inflationary pressure has eased for several essential items while others continue to see incremental price hikes.
Despite global market conditions favoring a price drop in sugar and edible oil, local market dynamics have led to a contrasting trend, affecting consumers nationwide.
With inflation easing after a prolonged period, economic analysts suggest that stability in commodity prices could provide some relief to households.
However, the continuous increase in specific essentials highlights the need for effective price regulation mechanisms.
are closely monitoring these trends to implement strategies aimed at further stabilizing the market and controlling price fluctuations in the near future.
