Overview
- The Sensitive Price Index, which tracks 51 essential items in 17 cities, rose 0.79% for the week ended May 7, taking the annual increase to 15.16%.
- Chicken prices jumped 12.82% week over week, with diesel up 5.10% and wheat flour up 3.42%, which PBS identified as the main drivers.
- On a yearly basis, petrol rose 58.32%, diesel 55.76%, electricity charges 52.58%, and wheat flour 50.65%, pointing to energy and staple cost pressure.
- Prices moved unevenly across the basket as 22 items rose, 14 fell, and 15 were unchanged, while every income group recorded a year-over-year rise of about 12% to 15%.
- Several staples were cheaper than a year ago, including potatoes down 44.58% and sugar down 13.76%, though PBS gave no causes as the Express Tribune cited spillovers from the Israel–US war on Iran.