ISLAMABAD – The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), for the week ended on February 10, for the lowest income group up to Rs3,000 registered an increase of 0.03 per cent over the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 296.33 points as against 296.25 points registered in the previous week, according provisional figures of the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).
The weekly SPI has been computed with base set at 2000=100 covering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups and combined. SPI for the combined group also registered an increase of 0.22 percent as it went up from 280.76 points in the previous week to 281.38 points in the week under review. Compared to the corresponding week last year, the SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 16.28 percent.
As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups ranging from Rs3,001-5,000, Rs5,001-12,000 and above Rs12,000 increased by 0.05 percent, 0.13 percent and 0.24 percent, respectively. During the week under review average prices of 10 items registered a decrease, while that of 22 items increased with the prices of the remaining 21 items remain unchanged.
The items which recorded decrease in their average prices during the week under review included tomatoes, LPG (11 kg cylinder), onions, egg hen (farm), sugar, gur, potatoes, moong pulse (washed), rice basmati (broken), masoor pulse (washed). The items which registered increase in their prices included chicken (farm), bath soap, vegetable ghee (tin), cooking oil (tin), washing soap, mutton, garlic, vegetable ghee (loose), red chillies, milk (fresh), curd, bananas, firewood, beef, electricity bulb, wheat flour (average quality), gram pulse (washed), shirting, rice (irri-6), mustard oil, wheat (average quality), mash pulse (washed).
The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included bread (plain), milk (powdered), salt (powdered), tea (packet), tea (prepared), cooked beef, cooked dal, cigarettes, coarse latha, lawn, voil (printed), sandal (gents), sandal (ladies), chappal, kerosene, match box, gas charges (up to 3.3719 MMBTU), electricity charges, petrol, diesel and telephone local call charges.
