Weekly inflation climbed by 42.27 percent year over year as a result of rising prices for vegetables, lentils, and cooking oil.
Although the full effects of devaluation, the hike in the general sales tax rate, and higher energy prices have not yet been fully reflected in the data, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released data on Friday that suggested that short-term inflation is likely to worsen further.
Inflation remained at 1.37 percent for the week ending March 9, with price rises for bananas, chicken, sugar, cooking oil, gas, and cigarettes. The prices of 29 out of the 51 items in the SPI basket rose, while the prices of only eight items fell. 14 of the prices were unchanged.
In contrast, the prices of tomatoes (down 41.79 percent) and chili powder had the largest year-over-year declines (7.42 percent).
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, the government has been implementing severe measures that are projected to hinder economic growth and fuel inflation. The prices of consumer products will rise further as a result of the policy rate’s increase to 20% and the general sales tax rate’s increase from 17% to 18% on the majority of items to 25% on more than 800 imported food and non-food categories.