SPI jumps 5.03% on tomato prices

Food, fuel rates also edge higher; weekly inflation inches up 0.22%

KARACHI:

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks the weekly movement of essential commodities, registered a year-on-year (YoY) increase of 5.03% for the week ended October 23, 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

The rise reflects continued inflationary pressure in key household goods, particularly food and energy-related items.

The SPI, which monitors 51 essential commodities from 50 markets across 17 cities, showed that the highest inflationary impact was felt in lower-income groups, with YoY increases ranging from 4.05% to 6.06% across consumption quintiles.

On a week-on-week (WoW) basis, the overall SPI inched up 0.22%, indicating that short-term price pressures persist despite relative stability in some essential items.

PBS data highlighted that tomato prices surged by a staggering 120.94% compared to the same week of last year, making it the largest contributor to food inflation. Other notable YoY increases were observed in ladies' sandals (55.62%), sugar (40.82%), gas charges for Q1 (29.85%), wheat flour (18.28%), gur (18.26%), beef (13.48%), firewood (12.68%), and vegetable ghee in both 1kg and 2.5kg packs (around 12.4%). Prices of diesel (9.75%) and eggs (9.40%) also climbed, adding to household budgetary stress.

Conversely, a few essential items witnessed substantial price declines over the year. Garlic became cheaper by 29.90%, followed by pulse gram (-28.23%), chicken (-26.32%), electricity charges for Q1 (-26.26%), onions (-26.06%), and potatoes (-19.65%). Prices of Lipton tea (-17.93%), pulse mash (-16.58%), pulse masoor (-3.66%), and LPG (-3.54%) also showed YoY declines.

In weekly movement, the SPI rose marginally by 0.22%, driven by higher prices of onions (5.62%), energy savers (2.51%), eggs (2.38%), sugar (2.04%), and firewood (1.17%). Smaller increases were recorded in garlic (0.93%), bananas (0.80%), powdered milk (0.58%), beef (0.47%), and cooking oil (0.36%).

Meanwhile, a slight decline was seen in chicken (-2.51%), Irri-6/9 rice (-1.19%), pulse moong (-0.65%), LPG (-0.12%), gur (-0.08%), and wheat flour (-0.01%).

Out of the 51 monitored items, prices of 20 items (39.22%) increased, six (11.76%) decreased, and 25 (49.02%) remained stable during the week.

According to the PBS data, inflationary pressure was uneven across income groups, as measured by the consumption quintiles. The lowest-income households (Q1) experienced a 5.46% YoY increase, while the highest-income group (Q5) recorded a relatively lower rise of 4.05%, reflecting that price hikes for food and basic utilities disproportionately affect the poorer segments of society.

On a weekly basis, all quintiles saw marginal upticks ranging between 0.21% and 0.27%, indicating that even minor fluctuations in essential commodity prices directly impact consumers across the board.