• SPI shows 0.69% weekly drop, 2.72% yearly decline.
• Tomatoes, chicken, onions lead weekly price fall in essentials.
• Onion, tomato, wheat flour record sharp yearly price cuts.

Pakistan recorded a 2.72% year-on-year decline in its weekly Sensitive Price Index (SPI) or the week ending April 17, the sharpest fall since the deflationary trend that started in March, The News reported on Saturday citing official figures released on Friday.

The continued decline signals a weak demand and persistent pricing pressures in key consumer categories, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The SPI, which measures the cost of essential goods across 17 cities, also showed a negative growth of 0.69% over the previous week. Of the 51 monitored items, the prices of 16 rose, 18 declined, and 17 remained unchanged.

During one week, prices of tomatoes declined by 22.77%, chicken 11%, onions 9.8%, garlic 8.8%, wheat flour 2.37%, potatoes 2.18%, mustard oil 0.95%, LPG 0.89% and vegetable ghee 0.68% and sugar price reduced by 0.29%.

Some items, however, showed a slight increase in prices. This includes shirting, which became dearer by 3.7%, lawn printed 1.5%, lawn cloth and georgette by 1.33% each. Besides, the price of gram pulse increased by 1.03%, beef 0.66%, and mutton price increased by 0.5% over the previous week.

Similarly, on a year-on-year basis, several essential items have witnessed significant price hikes over the past year. Ladies’ sandals surged by 56%, moong pulse by 27%, powder milk 25%, gram pulse by 21%, beef 19%. Likewise, sugar prices increased by 17%, vegetable ghee 15.7%, firewood 10.5%, and shirting and printed lawn increased by 10.3% over a year ago.

Some commodities have seen notable reductions over the past year. Onions prices fell by 73.6%, tomatoes by 52.7% and wheat flour by 30%. Garlic price reduced by 29%, potatoes 21% and chili powder was 19% cheaper in the past year.

Lipton tea was cheaper by 17%, chicken 15%, petrol 13%, and electricity charges for the lowest consumption slab decreased by 12.7%. The diesel price also declined by 10.85% over the year.