The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended on October 11, for the lowest income group up to Rs.8,000, registered slight increase of 0.12 per cent as compared to the previous week. The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 181.56 points against 181.34 points registered in the previous week, according to provisional figures of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The weekly SPI has been computed with base 2007-2008=100, covering 17 urban centers and 53 essential items for all income groups and combined. The SPI for the combined group increased by 0.17 per cent as it went up from 186.96 points in the previous week to 187.28 points in the week under review. As compared to the corresponding week of last year, the SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed increase of 6.34 percent. As compared to the last week, the SPI for the income groups from Rs.8001- 12,000, 12,001-18,000, 18001-35,000 and above Rs.35,000 increased by 0.12 percent, 0.12 percent, 0.15 and 0.23 percent respectively. During the week under review average prices of 11 items registered decrease, while that of 18 items increase with the remaining 24 items’ prices unchanged. The items which recorded decrease in their average prices during the week under review included bananas, tomatoes, chicken live (farm), diesel, vegetable ghee (tin), cooking oil (tin), red chillies (powder), masoor pulse (washed), mustard oil, gram pulse (washed), mash pulse (washed).
