The inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) was recorded at 24.5% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis in December 2022 as compared to the corresponding month of last year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Monday.
On a month-on-month basis, it increased to 0.5% in December 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.8% in the previous month (November).
The food commodities that witnessed an increase in prices on YoY basis included onions (463.5%), gram whole (61.24%), wheat (58.62%), tea (58.09%), eggs (57.78%), pulse gram (54.34%), besan (54.08%), rice (48.86%), pulse mash (44.33%), pulse moong (43.27%), chicken (41.35%), mustard oil (41.19%), dry fruits (39.84%), cooking oil (35.22%), cigarettes (34.96%), vegetable ghee (33.89%), milk fresh (29.75%),tomatoes (21.73%), meat (21.61%), fish (18.47%), potatoes (15.34%), sugar (3.84%) and gur (0.33%).
The non-food commodities that witnessed an increase on a YoY basis included motor fuels (51.66%), transport services (51.17%), washing soaps, detergents and matchbox (37.90%), stationery (37.8%), solid fuel (37.66%), drugs and medicines (33.64%), construction input items (33.05%), motor vehicles accessories (29.60%), woolen readymade garments (18.63%) and construction wage rates (11.85%),
The non-food commodities that witnessed a decrease in prices included electricity charges which went down by 2.69%.
Meanwhile, CPI inflation Urban increased to 21.6% on a year-on-year basis in Dec 2022 as compared to an increase of 21.6% in the previous month and 12.7% in Dec 2021. On a month-on-month basis, it increased to 0.3% in Dec 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.4% in the previous month and an increase of 0.3% in Dec 2021.—APP