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Aftab Maken
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday released the latest Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) data, showing a marginal decline of 0.09% in the prices of essential commodities for the week ending December 24, 2025.
The SPI, a key weekly measure designed to track short-term inflation trends by monitoring the prices of 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities, indicates a minor respite for households amid ongoing economic pressures.
Major Price Decreases Drive the Dip
The weekly decline was primarily driven by sharp drops in vegetable prices and some key kitchen staples:
- Potatoes fell by 10.37%
- Tomatoes decreased by 9.64%
- Onions dropped 7.43%
- Sugar prices declined 4.22%
- Other notable reductions included Pulse Gram (1.76%), LPG (0.78%), Pulse Masoor (0.74%), Gur (0.49%), and Rice Basmati Broken (0.17%).
Items Recording Increases
However, certain commodities witnessed upward movement:
- Chilies Powder surged by 6.26%
- Chicken prices rose 5.29%
- Bananas increased by 2.46%
- Electricity charges for Q1 went up by 1.67%
- Garlic prices climbed 1.50%
Out of the 51 monitored items, prices of 13 items (25.49%) increased, 11 items (21.57%) decreased, while 27 items (52.94%) remained stable.
Year-on-Year Inflation at 2.83% On an annual basis, the SPI recorded a moderate increase of 2.83%. Significant year-on-year hikes were observed in gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), wheat flour (22.56%), sugar (16.32%), and beef (13.01%).
Conversely, substantial annual declines provided relief in several categories, including tomatoes (down 74.92%), potatoes (49.79%), garlic (38.17%), pulse gram (29.66%), and onions (29.23%).
The PBS continues to closely monitor these fluctuations to offer timely insights into the cost-of-living dynamics affecting Pakistani households. Analysts view the slight weekly easing as a positive signal, though sustained vigilance on food and energy prices remains crucial.
