The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), for the lowest income group up to Rs 3,000, has registered a weekly increase of 0.07 percent. SPI, in the above mentioned group, was recorded at 300.20 points as against 299.98 points in the previous week. Provisional figures released by the Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS) depicted that the weekly SPI was computed with base 2000 2001=100, covered 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups.
SPI, for the combined group, exhibited a 0.13 percent rise as it went up from 288.08 points in the previous week to 288.46 points in the week under review. SPI, for income groups from Rs 3001-5000, Rs 5001-12000 and above Rs 12,000 increased by 0.07, 0.11 and 0.17 percent respectively. Average prices of 12 items saw a decline, while that of 22 items increased with the remaining 19 items’ prices unchanged. Commodities, whose prices decline during the week under review, included tomato, onion, garlic, egg (farm), white sugar, wheat flour (average quality), masoor pulse (washed), moong pulse (washed), mustard oil and mash pulse (washed).
Items, which saw an increase in their average prices, included milk powder, bananas, curd, milk fresh, chicken (farm), sugar, washing soap, gur, LPG, cylinder (11kg), tea cup (prepared), cooked beef (plate), rice irri-6, red chilies, lawn, cooked dal (plate), bread plain (mid size), shirting, kerosene, vegetable ghee (loose) and mutton.