In Pakistan, Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation rose sharply in October, surging by 26.6 per cent year over year (YoY). On the other hand, it climbed 4.7 per cent month over month (MoM), indicating a decline of 1.2 per cent from September.
“CPI inflation General, increased to 26.6 per cent on YoY basis in Oct 2022 as compared to an increase of 23.2 per cent in the previous month and 9.2 per cent in Oct 2021,” said the PBS.
According to APP, inflation reached a YoY high of 27.3 per cent in August 2022, which was over a 47-year high in the inflation measurement in June 2022 after it had crossed the 20 per cent threshold.
The inflation reading matches what the market had predicted.
According to the PBS, year-over-year CPI inflation in urban areas reached 24.6 per cent in October 2022 as opposed to an increase of 21.2 per cent in the previous month and 9.6 per cent in October 2021.
In October 2022, it grew to 4.5 per cent month over month, up from 1.7 per cent in October 2021 and a decline of 2.1 per cent the month before.
In addition, year-over-year CPI inflation in rural regions reached 29.5 per cent in October 2022 as opposed to increases of 26.1 per cent in the previous month and 8.7 per cent in October 2021.
When compared to the previous month’s gain of 0.2 per cent and the increase of 2.2 per cent in October 2021, it increased by 5.0 per cent in October 2022 on a monthly basis.
Rising inflation has become a major worry for Pakistan’s economy, which is already experiencing a loss of foreign exchange reserves.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) maintained the policy rate at 15 per cent in October at the recommendation of its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), believing that the current monetary policy stance achieves the right mix between controlling inflation and sustaining growth in the wake of the floods.
“On the one hand, inflation could be higher and more persistent due to the supply shock to food prices, and it is important to ensure that this additional impetus does not spill over into broader prices in the economy. On the other, growth prospects have weakened, which should reduce demand-side pressures and suppress underlying inflation,” MPC said then.
However, the government on Monday night announced that the price of petroleum products will remain the same for the ensuing 15 days.
According to PBS data, the inflation rates that were highest in October were in the transportation, food, housing, and restaurant and hotel groupings.
Items that witnessed an increase in prices
Food
The food commodities that witnessed increase in prices on a YoY basis included tomatoes (219.34 per cent), onions (165.66 per cent), gram whole (69.80 per cent), pulse gram (65.08 per cent), besan (62.25 per cent), mustard oil (61.14 per cent), pulse masoor (61.07 per cent), fresh vegetables (58.87 per cent), cooking oil (58.06 per cent), pulse mash (55.33 per cent), vegetable ghee (52.5 per cent), pulse moong (49.84 per cent), wheat (45.77 per cent), tea (41.89 per cent), rice (40.76 per cent), wheat flour (37.38 per cent), milk fresh (29.61 per cent), meat (25.34 per cent), potatoes (20.65 per cent), fish (15.4 per cent), chicken (12.22 per cent) and gur (0.39 per cent).
Non-food items
The non-food commodities that witnessed increase on a YoY basis included motor fuel (64.81 per cent), stationery (44.5 per cent), washing soap/detergents/match box (41.49 per cent), transport services (41.27 per cent), motor vehicles (34.29 per cent), construction input items (32.03 per cent), motor vehicle accessories (31.31 per cent), electricity charges (24.95 per cent), cotton cloth (24.16 per cent), household equipment (21.4 per cent), solid fuel (20.88 per cent) and construction wage rates (12.72 per cent).
