The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks weekly price movements of essential commodities, rose 10.64% year on year during the week.
Diesel prices increased by 7.29% during the week, while petrol prices rose 6.40%. LPG prices also increased by 3.26%, adding to the overall weekly inflationary pressure.
Several food items also became more expensive. Garlic prices increased by 1.94%, eggs by 1.72% and gram pulse by 0.80%. Plain bread prices rose 0.74%, while smaller increases were recorded in masoor pulse and mustard oil prices.
However, prices of several essential commodities declined during the week. Banana prices fell by 6.17%, followed by tomatoes at 5.66% and onions at 4.57%. Chicken prices declined by 2.33%, while powdered milk, wheat flour, IRRI-6/9 rice and sugar also became cheaper.
According to PBS data, prices of 19 items increased during the week, accounting for 37.25% of the monitored basket. Prices of nine items, or 17.65%, declined, while the prices of 23 items remained unchanged.
On a year-on-year basis, onion prices recorded the largest increase, rising 117.77%. LPG prices increased by 60.42%, while diesel and petrol prices rose 54.21% and 48%, respectively.
Electricity prices for the first quarter increased by 33.54% year-on-year, while wheat flour prices rose 33.27%. Annual increases were also recorded in powdered chilies, mutton, beef, bananas, plain bread and fresh milk.
Meanwhile, potato prices declined by 35.31% year-on-year, while sugar prices fell 20.95%. Egg prices decreased by 19.31%, chicken by 15.26% and salt powder by 13.96%.
The average price of a 50kg bag of Sona Urea stood at Rs4,699, down 0.04% from the previous week but 6.94% higher than a year earlier.
The average price of a 50kg bag of cement reached Rs1,550, showing a weekly increase of 0.28% and a year-on-year increase of 10.29%.
The PBS monitors prices of 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 cities through the Sensitive Price Indicator, which provides a measure of short-term inflationary trends.
