Weekly inflation rises 0.23% as fuel prices surge

Petrol jumps 6.18%, diesel 5.49% and LPG 4.32% during the week; SPI inflation stands at 8.62% year-on-year, with onion prices up 125.52% Pakistan's weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), increased 0.23% during the week ended September 10, 2026, driven primarily by sharp increases in petrol, high-speed diesel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). On a year-on-year basis, the SPI was 8.62% higher than the corresponding week last year. The combined SPI stood at 364.26 compared with 363.42 a week earlier and 335.35 in the corresponding week of 2025. The index, with 2015-16 as its base year, tracks 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities. Fuel prices lead weekly increase Petrol recorded the largest weekly increase among the items tracked, rising 6.18% to an average Rs369.75 per litre from Rs348.24 a week earlier. Compared with Rs265.82 per litre in the corresponding week last year, petrol was 39.10% more expensive. High-speed diesel increased 5.49% week-on-week to Rs394.68 per litre from Rs374.13. Its price was 45.26% higher year-on-year compared with Rs271.71 per litre in the corresponding period last year. LPG prices rose 4.32% during the week, with the average price of an 11.67kg cylinder reaching Rs4,810.14 from Rs4,610.97. The cylinder cost Rs3,094.86 a year earlier, translating into a 55.42% year-on-year increase. Kitchen Items Among other items recording weekly increases, pulse mash rose 0.79%, washing soap 0.49%, wheat flour 0.47%, pulse masoor 0.46%, mustard oil 0.36%, five-litre cooking oil 0.23%, IRRI-6/9 rice 0.18%, 2.5kg vegetable ghee 0.11% and curd 0.03%. The detailed PBS data showed the average price of a 20kg wheat flour bag increasing to Rs2,694.20 from Rs2,681.53 a week earlier and Rs2,069.65 a year ago. Pulse mash increased to Rs459.17 per kg from Rs455.57, while pulse masoor rose to Rs260.47 from Rs259.29. Mustard oil averaged Rs564.35 per kg, five-litre cooking oil Rs3,088.44, IRRI-6/9 rice Rs154.28 per kg, a 2.5kg tin of vegetable ghee Rs1,570.41 and loose curd Rs254.94 per kg. Vegetable prices provide some relief The increase in fuel and some food prices was partly offset by substantial declines in several perishable food items. Bananas recorded the largest weekly decline, falling 7.73%, followed by tomatoes at 5.24%, chicken at 4.22%, onions at 3.72% and potatoes at 1.88%. Egg prices declined 0.68%, garlic 0.44% and sugar 0.42%. PBS's detailed price data showed bananas declining to Rs159.05 per dozen from Rs172.38, tomatoes to Rs186.58 per kg from Rs196.90 and live broiler chicken to Rs346.24 per kg from Rs361.48. Onions fell to Rs202.61 per kg from Rs210.44, while potatoes declined to Rs55.80 from Rs56.87. Eggs averaged Rs248.30 per dozen, garlic Rs375.34 per kg and refined sugar Rs145.59 per kg. Overall, prices of 14 of the 51 monitored items, or 27.45%, increased during the week. Prices of 10 items, or 19.61%, declined, while 27 items, representing 52.94% of the basket, remained unchanged. Onions remain 125.52% more expensive than last year Despite their weekly decline, onions recorded the largest year-on-year increase among the major items monitored by PBS, with prices up 125.52%. The average onion price stood at Rs202.61 per kg compared with Rs89.84 a year earlier. Other major year-on-year increases included LPG at 55.42%, diesel at 45.26%, petrol at 39.10% and wheat flour at 30.18%. Electricity charges for the lowest consumption quintile were 25.24% higher than a year earlier, while chilli powder increased 16.37%, mutton 15.92%, beef 13.28%, bananas 10.51%, fresh milk 8.12% and plain bread 8.09%. PBS data showed average electricity charges for the lowest consumption quintile at Rs6.45 per unit compared with Rs5.15 a year earlier. Mutton averaged Rs2,385.55 per kg against Rs2,057.98 last year, while beef stood at Rs1,269.41 per kg compared with Rs1,120.60. Fresh milk averaged Rs218.59 per litre, up from Rs202.18 a year ago, while plain bread stood at Rs119.03 compared with Rs110.12. Several food items, however, remained substantially cheaper than a year ago. Potato prices were down 35.21%, chicken 24.30%, sugar 20.88%, eggs 19.95%, tomatoes 17.65%, powdered salt 13.96%, pulse gram 13.52% and pulse masoor 12.26%. Inflation varies sharply across expenditure groups The impact of weekly price movements differed across consumption quintiles. For the lowest expenditure group, covering households spending up to Rs17,732, the SPI actually declined 0.30% week-on-week, although it remained 7.38% higher year-on-year. Its index stood at 351.56 compared with 352.61 the previous week and 327.39 a year earlier. The second quintile, covering expenditure of Rs17,733 to Rs22,888, recorded a 0.18% weekly decline and an 8.14% year-on-year increase. The third quintile, covering Rs22,889 to Rs29,517, saw prices decline 0.06% week-on-week while rising 7.25% year-on-year. For the fourth quintile, covering expenditure between Rs29,518 and Rs44,175, the SPI increased 0.07% during the week and 7.61% from a year earlier. The highest expenditure group, covering spending above Rs44,175, experienced the sharpest weekly increase of 0.47%. Its year-on-year inflation rate was also the highest among the five groups at 8.92%. Weekly inflation accelerates after previous week's rise The latest 0.23% increase followed a 0.65% rise in the combined SPI during the week ended September 3. The year-on-year rate consequently increased to 8.62% from 8.35% a week earlier. Over the preceding weeks, the combined SPI increased 0.05% in the week ended August 27, 0.49% on August 20, 0.15% on August 13 and 0.28% on August 6. It had declined 0.91% in the week ended July 30 after increasing 0.91% on July 23 and 1.40% on July 16. For the lowest consumption quintile, the monthly SPI stood at 348.70 in August 2026, increasing 0.86% from July and 9.46% from August 2025. In July, the index had stood at 345.72, up 2.39% month-on-month and 12.04% year-on-year. For fiscal year 2025-26, the lowest quintile's SPI increased 5.68% quarter-on-quarter during July-September, 3.35% during October-December, declined 1.01% during January-March and rose 3.24% during April-June. The corresponding year-on-year changes were 2.08%, 3.82%, 4.55% and 11.62%, respectively. On a half-yearly basis, the SPI for the lowest consumption quintile stood at 322.70 in July-December 2025-26, up 5.65% from the previous half-year and 2.96% year-on-year. It increased to 329.96 during January-June 2026, representing growth of 2.25% from the preceding half-year and 8.03% from a year earlier.