ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased 3.75 per cent year-on-year in the week ending on Dec 18, owing to an increase in the retail price of edible oil and meat in the domestic market.

The SPI-based inflation recorded an upward trend for the 20th consecutive week. The increase is mainly driven by a surge in prices of perishable products, as well as chicken, pulses, LPG cylinders and electricity prices.

It, however, increased by 0.24pc from the previous week due to an increase in prices of essential food items, official data showed on Friday.

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included chicken (11.11pc), chilies powder (3.08pc), eggs (2.88pc), shirting (1.64pc), firewood (0.86pc), cooking oil 5 litre (0.32pc), energy saver & pulse moong (0.31pc) each, mustard oil (0.25pc) and feef (0.23pc).

The items whose prices saw a decline week-on-week included tomatoes (11.38pc), potatoes (8.39pc),diesel (5pc), sugar (4.52pc), onions (3.52pc), pulse mash (1.29pc), garlic (1.26pc), salt powder (1.12pc), gur (1.05pc) and LPG (0.14pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included gas charges for Q1 (29.85pc), sugar (24.10pc), wheat flour (22.52pc), chicken (20.78pc), beef (13.66pc), gur (13.43pc), fire­wood (12.08pc), powdered milk (9.50pc), eggs (8.75pc), lawn printed (8.29pc), shirting (8.07pc) and bananas (7.83pc).

In contrast, the prices of tomatoes dropped 66.49pc, followed by potatoes (45.31pc), garlic (39.10pc), onions (29.77pc), pulse gram (28.95pc), tea Lipton (17.79pc), pulse mash (14.23pc), electricity charges for Q1 (8.40pc), salt powder (6.14pc) and LPG (0.15pc).

Published in Dawn, December 20th, 2025