Pakistan’s short-term inflation surged to 29.88%

– Short-term inflation in Pakistan has surged 29.88 per cent year on year in the week ending on November 2 due to the increasing prices of kitchen products.
– The weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index, also increased 0.71 per cent on a week-on-week basis.
– The Pakistan caretaker government maintained the prices of petrol and high-speed diesel for the current fortnight, dashing the hopes of consumers who anticipated a significant reduction.
– Ogra has recommended a significant decline but the interim government has chosen to keep fuel prices unchanged at high levels.
– Of the 51 items in the SPI basket, prices of 12 increased while those of 14 dropped.
– The number of items whose prices remained unchanged compared to the previous week was 25.
– The biggest increases week-on-week were seen in the prices of tomatoes (25.58 per cent), onions (25.25 per cent), chicken (10.79 per cent), potatoes (1.61 per cent), tea Lipton (1.58 per cent), eggs (1.30 per cent), garlic (0.50 per cent), rice basmati broken (0.19 per cent), georgette (0.28 per cent) and firewood (0.05 per cent), as per Dawn.
– Meanwhile, the World Bank has warned that Pakistan is at a tipping point on poverty with 40 per cent of its population below the poverty line.

Link to the original story: https://www.businessworld.in/article/Short-Term-Inflation-In-Pakistan-Surges-To-29-88-/05-11-2023-497651