Islamabad: Amid the soaring prices of essentials, the Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation in Pakistan rose above the 24% mark in December 2022 on a year-on-year basis, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported Monday.
According to the monthly data on inflation in the country, the PBS reported that inflation reached 24.5% in December compared to the corresponding period last year when it had clocked in at 12.3%.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation jumped by 0.5% in December compared to November 2022, when it was recorded at 0.8%.
CPI inflation in urban areas increased to 21.6% on a YoY basis in December 2022, compared to 12.7% in December 2021. On MoM basis, it increased to 0.3% in December 2022 as compared to an increase of 0.4% in the previous month and an increase of 0.3% in December 2021.
Moreover, CPI inflation in rural areas increased to 28.8% on a year-on-year basis in December 2022, compared to an increase of 27.2% in the previous month and 11.6% in December 2021. On an MoM basis, it increased to 0.7% in December 2022, compared to an increase of 1.3% in the previous month and a decrease of 0.5% in December 2021.
Last week, the finance ministry’s forecast said inflation would stay high — between 21-23% during the current fiscal year.
“For FY23, economic growth is likely to remain below the budgeted target due to devastation caused by floods. This combination of low growth, high inflation, and low levels of official foreign exchange reserves are the key challenges for policymakers,” the ministry said in its Monthly Economic Update and Outlook.
Pakistan has been in the grips of decades-high inflation in the past few months but the CPI hike slowed down in September to 23.2% from a 49-year high of 27.2% in August.
Inflation in October crosses 26%; nears 49-year highest again
