ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), surged by 10.64 per cent year-on-year for the week ending Sept 17, mainly due to higher energy prices, according to official data released on Friday.

Short-term inflation entered a double-digit upward spiral. Unwilling to reduce the petroleum levy, the government is steadily increasing petrol and diesel prices on a daily basis. Rising energy prices are also indirectly contributing to higher sales tax collections.

At the same time, the unprecedented increase in transport costs has also been reflected in the prices of essential food items, including onions, tomatoes and other vegetables.

On a week-on-week basis, the index increased by 0.49pc, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

Price pressure mounts on costly petrol and diesel

The overall SPI showed a broad-based rise, indicating continued pressure on the cost of living. The increase was largely driven by sharp year-on-year gains in key items, including petrol (48pc), diesel (54.21pc), LPG (60.42pc) and wheat flour (33.27pc).

The SPI has now risen for the 73rd consecutive week, reflecting sustained pressure on consumers.

This is an example of cost-push inflation, where increased energy prices are followed by higher food costs. Consequently, average households face greater financial pressure as consumer prices rise.

The items with the largest price increases over the previous week included diesel (7.29pc), petrol (6.40pc), LPG (3.26pc), garlic (1.94pc), eggs (1.72pc), pulse gram (0.80pc), plain bread (0.74pc), pulse masoor (0.49pc), mustard oil (0.44pc), pulse moong (0.39pc), mutton (0.26pc) and firewood (0.07pc).

The items whose prices declined week-on-week included bananas (6.17pc), tomatoes (5.66pc), onions (4.57pc), chicken (2.33pc), powdered milk (0.40pc), wheat flour (0.28pc), rice IRRI-6/9 (0.16pc) and sugar (0.14pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most were onions (117.77pc), LPG (60.42pc), diesel (54.21pc), petrol (48pc), electricity for Q1 (33.54pc), wheat flour (33.27pc), chilli powder (16.37pc), mutton (15.86pc), beef (12.88pc), bananas (9.24pc), plain bread (8.89pc) and fresh milk (8.12pc).

In contrast, the prices of potatoes fell 35.31pc, followed by sugar (20.95pc), eggs (19.31pc), chicken (15.26pc), salt powder (13.96pc), pulse gram (12.42pc), pulse masoor (11.26pc) and pulse moong (8.49pc).

The index, comprising 51 items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities, is computed weekly to assess the prices of essential commodities and services at shorter intervals.

Data showed that the prices of 19 items increased, 9 decreased, and 23 remained stable compared to the previous week.

Published in Dawn, September 19th, 2026