Perishable food items push inflation up by 3.56%

Pace of increase, however, slows down compared to previous month

ISLAMABAD: The Consumer Price Index (CPI) - a most closely watched indicator of inflation - rose 3.56% in August 2016 compared to the corresponding month of the previous year primarily due to a sharp increase in prices of perishable food items in the country.

Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Director Atiqur Rahman announced this while unveiling the latest inflation reading at a press conference on Thursday.

In July this year, the inflation was 4.1%, which showed that the pace of increase slowed down in August.

Compared to the previous month, the CPI inflation - which gauges prices of 481 commodities in urban centres - dropped 0.30% in August. Average inflation in the first two months - July and August - of fiscal year 2016-17 stood at 3.84%.

The PBS collects data on retail and wholesale prices and calculates the CPI, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on a monthly basis and Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) every week.



In August 2016, the WPI fell 0.03% compared to the previous month whereas the SPI - which covers 53 essential commodities - rose 0.23%, he added. On a year-on-year basis, the WPI went up 3.5% whereas the SPI rose 2.2%.

Core inflation - which excludes volatile food and energy prices - stood at 4.6% in August compared to the same month last year.

Among food items, a major year-on-year increase was recorded in prices of gram (47.7%), mash pulse (45.96%), gram pulse (40.41%), gram flour (38.31%), potatoes (32.85%), cigarettes (17.98%) and vegetables (11.47%).

On the other side, onion prices fell 31.67%, chicken 17.02%, rice 8.21% and cooking oil 5.57%.

In the category of non-food items, gas prices increased 9.92%, water supply 8.94%, education 7.62% and construction wages 6.69%.

Motor fuel prices went down 11.39%, kerosene oil 10.02%, motor vehicle accessories 5.55% and transport services 2%.

Replying to a question, the PBS director said the bureau had finalised arrangements for holding the national census and the inter-provincial Council of Common Interests had decided that the Pakistan Army would provide assistance during the process.

At present, he said, the armed forces were engaged in Operation Zarb-e-Azb in the tribal areas for eliminating terrorism from the country. The census campaign could get under way by March next year depending on the availability of army personnel.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 2^nd, 2016.

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