Weekly inflation in Pakistan rose by 0.29 per cent in the week ending 5 November, taking the annual rate to 12.31 per cent, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. The Sensitive Price Indicator, which tracks 51 essential items across 50 markets in 17 cities, rose to 374.61 points from 373.51 a week earlier.

Tomatoes lead the weekly rise

Tomatoes recorded the steepest weekly increase, jumping 54.18 per cent in seven days. LPG rose by 3.72 per cent, potatoes by 2.07 per cent, eggs by 1.17 per cent and garlic by 1.06 per cent. Prices of firewood, salt powder, bread, fresh milk and curd also increased during the week.

Fuel prices fall, easing some pressure

Not everything became dearer. Petrol prices fell by 4.20 per cent and diesel by 2.97 per cent during the week. Chicken, sugar, wheat flour, onions, bananas, gram pulse and powdered milk also became cheaper. Out of the 51 items tracked, prices of 21 increased, 10 fell and 20 remained unchanged.

Cooking gas up sharply over the year

On an annual basis, LPG recorded the highest increase at 114.88 per cent, followed by tomatoes at 78.89 per cent and electricity for the lowest consumption category at 52.38 per cent. Diesel was up 39.27 per cent and petrol 36.34 per cent on the year, while wheat flour rose 33.95 per cent and chicken 31.81 per cent.

Some items cheaper than a year ago

Some items were cheaper than a year earlier. Potato prices were down 37.24 per cent year on year, eggs 27.59 per cent and sugar 25.03 per cent. The bureau's weekly index is watched as an early signal of price pressures on households, since it covers the everyday goods families buy most often.