Islamabad: The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation in Pakistan clocked in at 27.6% in January 2023 on a year-on-year basis, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported Wednesday.
According to Arif Habib Limited, this is the highest year-on-year inflation after May 1975, when it clocked in at 27.77%.
CPI for the month of Jan’23 clocked-in at 27.55% YoY (+2.88% MoM). This is the highest YoY inflation after May 1975 (27.77%).This takes 7MFY23 average inflation to 25.40% compared to 10.26% in 7MFY22.@PBSofficialpak @StateBank_Pak #PBS #Inflation #Pakistan #Economy #AHL pic.twitter.com/P2eyxSBbl2
— Arif Habib Limited (@ArifHabibLtd) February 1, 2023
The monthly data on inflation in the country by PBS reported that inflation reached 27.6% in January compared to the corresponding period last year when it had clocked in at 13%.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation jumped by 2.9% in January 2023 compared to December 2022, when it was recorded at 0.5%.
Experts have attributed food inflation as the major driver behind the hike. It increased from 162.23 in January 2022 to 231.89 in January 2023, a jump of almost 43%.
CPI inflation in urban areas increased to 24.4% on a year-on-year basis in Jan 2023, compared to an increase of 21.6% in the previous month and 13.0% in Jan 2022. On a month-on-month basis, it increased to 2.4% in Jan 2023 compared to an increase of 0.3% in the previous month and an increase of 0.1% in Jan 2022.
CPI inflation in rural areas increased to 32.3% on a year-on-year basis in Jan 2023, compared to an increase of 28.8% in the previous month and 12.9% in Jan 2022. On a month-on-month basis, it increased to 3.6% in Jan 2023 compared to an increase of 0.7% in the previous month and an increase of 0.9% in Jan 2022.