Pakistan’s Inflation Rises to 11.1% in August 2026
Pakistan’s headline inflation rate increased to 11.1% in August 2026, marking a significant rise compared with the same month last year, according to the latest data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
Inflation stood at 3.56% in August 2025, meaning the latest annual rate is more than three times higher. In July 2026, headline inflation was recorded at 9.2%.
Monthly Inflation Also Increases
On a month-on-month basis, consumer inflation increased by 1.2% in August, the same monthly increase recorded in July.
By comparison, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had declined by 0.6% month-on-month in August 2025.
Urban areas recorded annual inflation of 10.4% in August, up from 8.7% in July and 3.5% a year earlier.
Rural inflation was higher, reaching 12.2% in August compared with 9.9% in July and 2.5% in August 2025.
On a monthly basis, urban inflation increased by 0.9%, while rural inflation rose by 1.6%.
Wholesale Prices Continue to Rise
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks changes in the prices of frequently purchased items, increased 9.5% year-on-year in August. This was lower than July’s 12% increase but considerably above the 2.6% increase recorded in August 2025.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) also showed an increase, rising 11.8% year-on-year in August compared with 9.4% in July. A year earlier, wholesale prices had declined by 1%.
On a monthly basis, WPI increased by 2% in August.
Core Inflation Remains Elevated
Core inflation also remained relatively high during the month.
Urban non-food, non-energy inflation increased to 8.8% year-on-year in August from 8.6% in July.
In rural areas, core inflation rose to 8.5%, compared with 8.1% in the previous month.
Under the 20% weighted trimmed-mean measure, urban core inflation increased to 8.9% in August from 7.5% in July, while rural core inflation rose to 9.1% from 8%.
The latest figures indicate that price pressures remained elevated across both urban and rural areas of Pakistan during August.
