Week records minimal decrease in inflation

ISLAMABAD - The SPI inflation was recorded 17.40 percent higher on the week ending on February 11 over the same period of the last year with meagre 0.01 percent decline over the previous week, according to Federal Bureau of Statistics.
Official statistics on Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) inflation, released by the FBS on Saturday, showed decline of 0.01 percent during the week period.
With this decline in the SPI, the dearness for the low-income group with monthly income of Rs 3,000 came down to 18.24 percent, and for Rs 3,001-5,000 income it was recorded 18.06 percent. Similarly, for families bracketed in monthly income of Rs 5,001-12,000, the SPI inflation came down to 17.49 percent and for above Rs 12,000 it was recorded 17.18.
State Bank of Pakistan in its latest Monetary Policy Statement projected inflation to remain between 11 and 12 percent for the current year, but that was before the price data for January 2010 was available. However, unfortunately, the inflation up trend is likely to accelerate further in the remaining part of 2009-10.
The recent hike in petroleum, gas and electricity prices, together with the depreciation of the exchange rate of the rupee and lower availabilities in the economy, due to sluggish growth rate, would certainly fuel inflationary tendencies in the economy and make the lives of ordinary citizens much more difficult.
The SPI bulletin, based on data of 53 items collected from 17 urban centres, showed increase in prices of 23 essential commodities, decline in 13, and the prices of 17 commodities remained stable during the week.
The items which recorded increase in their average prices during the week under review included, tea packet, tomatoes, washing soap, bread plain, coarse latha, voil printed, mutton, shirting, lawn, cooked dal plate, wheat, tea prepared, firewood, kerosene, beef, cooked beef plate, masoor pulse washed, bananas, rice-irri-6, curd, wheat flour, milk fresh, and mustered oil.
The items which, registered decrease in prices included egg (hen), potatoes, sugar, chicken (farm), gram pulse washed, LPG (11 kg cylinder), red chillies, garlic, onions, vegetable ghee, gur, moong pulse washed, and mash pulse washed.
The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included rice basmati broken, milk powdered, vegetable ghee (tin), cooking oil (tin), salt, cigarettes k-2, sandals, petrol and diesel.