Inflation for lowest income group 23.36pc

ISLAMABAD - Inflation for the lowest income group has been recorded 23.36 percent in the week ended December 24 as compared to corresponding week of previous year.
The official statistics released here on Saturday depicted that the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the income group of Rs 3000 per month remained at 23.36 per cent during the last week.
Few weeks earlier, the inflation was standing at 29 percent as compared to the same period of that week in the last year.
Similarly, the combined SPI (average inflation for all income groups) remained at 23.61 per cent during the period under review. The SPI on week-to-week basis saw a decline of 0.47 per cent for the lowest income group.
While for the highest income group of above Rs 12000, inflation stood at 23.13 percent that is lower than the inflation for lowest income group.
That also means that the prices of luxuries witnessed more decline than the necessities.
The Federal Bureau of Statistics carried out a survey in 17 urban centres every week to determine the trend in the prices of 53 essential items. This time the rates of 14 essential commodities swelled, 11 items decreased, and 28 products prices remained same as of the previous week
The items with increased value included tomatoes, bananas, garlic, mustard oil, wheat, gur, mutton, firewood, gram pulse, masoor pulse, etc those are all necessities.
The price of tomatoes increased by 13.19 percent as compared to price in the corresponding week of previous year and as compared to last week it increased by 0.0967 percent.
The second highest increase was seen in the price of L.P.G that is around 3.74 percent as compared to this week in the previous year.
Moreover, the rates of mustard oil augmented by 1.39 percent, bananas 0.42 per cent, wheat 0.36 per cent, mutton 0.09 per cent, masoor pulse 0.31, gur 0.18 per cent as compared to prices of these items in the corresponding week of previous year.
On the other hand, on week-to-week basis the items whose prices reduced included potatoes 10.91 per cent, egg 4.72 per cent, chicken 4.06 per cent, rice irri 1.61 percent, sugar 1.39, onions 0.91 per cent, etc.
Though the inflation figure has been reduced somehow in some previous weeks but 23 percent inflation is still too high that the lower class across the country is unable to meet both ends.