Weekly SPI Rises 0.95% Amid Soaring Chicken, Tomato Prices; Yearly Inflation Eases Slightly
KARACHI: The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ending July 10, 2025, recorded a 0.95% increase on a week-on-week (WoW) basis, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The uptick was primarily driven by sharp hikes in food prices, especially perishable items.
🛒 Key Weekly Price Changes
The most notable increases were seen in:
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Chicken: ↑ 22.61%
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Tomatoes: ↑ 13.45%
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Onions: ↑ 6.25%
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Potatoes: ↑ 2.79%
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Garlic: ↑ 2.36%
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Sugar: ↑ 1.90%
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Gur (jaggery): ↑ 1.89%
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Rice (Basmati broken): ↑ 0.84%
Meanwhile, some essentials recorded price drops, offering slight relief:
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LPG (liquefied petroleum gas): ↓ 2.56%
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Mustard oil: ↓ 0.81%
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Pulse moong: ↓ 0.41%
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Cooking oil (5 litres): ↓ 0.20%
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Wheat flour & vegetable ghee (2.5 kg): ↓ 0.02%
Out of 51 essential items tracked across 50 markets in 17 cities, 19 items saw price increases, 6 items declined, while 26 remained stable.
📉 Year-on-Year (YoY) Trend Shows 1.23% Decline
Despite the weekly hike, the SPI decreased by 1.23% compared to the same period last year. This decline is attributed to significant YoY drops in essential perishables and energy costs:
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Onions: ↓ 50.04%
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Tomatoes: ↓ 45.66%
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Electricity (Q1 charges): ↓ 37.62%
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Garlic: ↓ 22.80%
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Wheat flour: ↓ 22.19%
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Pulse mash: ↓ 20.46%
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Tea (Lipton): ↓ 17.93%
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Diesel: ↓ 1.58%
📈 Inflationary Pressures Still Felt in Daily Essentials
Despite the overall YoY drop, households continue to feel the burden of rising costs in other essential categories:
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Ladies’ sandals: ↑ 55.62%
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Sugar: ↑ 29.17%
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Pulse moong: ↑ 18.89%
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Beef: ↑ 14.71%
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Chicken: ↑ 13.77%
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Gur: ↑ 12.66%
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Vegetable ghee: ↑ 12.46%
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Firewood: ↑ 10.44%
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Powdered milk: ↑ 9.41%
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Lawn fabric (printed): ↑ 7.89%
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Shirting cloth: ↑ 7.31%
These trends highlight ongoing cost-of-living pressures, particularly affecting middle- and lower-income households.
🧮 SPI Breakdown by Income Groups
The SPI is calculated weekly by PBS and serves as a barometer for short-term inflation, particularly among vulnerable households. Income group data for the week shows:
Week-on-Week (WoW) Increases:
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Q1 (lowest income): ↑ 1.10%
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Q2: ↑ 0.99%
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Q3: ↑ 1.02%
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Q4: ↑ 0.88%
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Q5 (highest income): ↑ 0.85%
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Combined SPI: ↑ 0.95%
Year-on-Year (YoY) Decreases:
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Q1: ↓ 2.79%
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Q2: ↓ 2.41%
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Q5: ↓ 1.24%
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Q3: ↓ 0.59%
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Q4: ↓ 0.04%
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Combined: ↓ 1.23%
The data indicates sharper weekly price increases for low-income groups, despite broader annual relief.
⚠️ Looking Ahead: Volatility Expected
Economists caution that while YoY inflation is easing, weekly volatility in food and fuel prices remains a concern. Effective supply chain management, policy coordination, and fiscal responsibility will be key to maintaining price stability in the months ahead.
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