ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s annual inflation has jumped to a two-year high of 13 percent in January due to a massive surge in energy and food prices.
According to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI)increased by 13.0% on year-on-year basis in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 12.3% in the previous month and 5.7% in January 2021.
“On month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.4% in January 2022 as compared to decrease of -0.02% in the previous month and a decrease of -0.2% in January 2021,” read PBS report.
SPI inflation on YoY increased by 20.9% in January 2022 as compared to an increase of 20.9% a month earlier and an increase of 7.7% in January 2021. On MoM basis, it decreased by -0.8% in January 2022 as compared to decrease of -0.4% a month earlier and a decrease of -0.8% in January 2021.
In the outgoing month, prices of food products, such as cooking oil surged by by 54.33 percent, vegetable ghee 47.4 percent, when compared with the same month of the previous year.
The electricity price witnessed an increase of 56.20 percent, liquefied hydrocarbons by 53.35% and motor fuel by 36.22 percent in January 2022 as compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
The inflation rate was recorded 128 percent higher than the previous year’s 5.7 percent due to rising food prices globally.
