Pakistan’s short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), increased by 0.05% during the week ended August 27, 2026, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The latest SPI inflation data showed mixed price movements for essential commodities. Prices of LPG, diesel, electricity, petrol and several food items increased during the week, while significant declines were recorded in tomatoes, chicken, onions and bananas.
On a year-on-year basis, the SPI increased by 9.04%, indicating continued pressure on household budgets despite weekly price movements remaining relatively limited.
LPG, Diesel And Petrol Prices Rise
The largest weekly increase was recorded in the price of LPG, which rose by 3.46%. Diesel prices increased by 2.44%, while electricity charges for the first quarter rose by 2.06%.
Petrol prices increased by 1.71% during the week. Other commodities that became more expensive included pulse gram, wheat flour, eggs, mustard oil, pulse masoor, prepared tea, pulse mash and beef.
Pulse gram recorded a weekly increase of 0.88%, while wheat flour rose by 0.39%. Egg prices increased by 0.34%, and mustard oil and pulse masoor prices went up by 0.30% each.
Tomato Prices Fall 18.65%
Several food items recorded notable price declines during the week.
Tomato prices registered the biggest decrease, falling by 18.65%. Chicken prices dropped by 4.41%, followed by onions at 2.87% and bananas at 2.80%.
Garlic prices declined by 1.02%, while IRRI-6/9 rice fell by 0.42%. Basmati broken rice prices decreased by 0.41%, while potatoes became 0.39% cheaper.
Out of the 51 items monitored by the PBS, prices of 20 items increased, 11 decreased and 20 remained unchanged during the week.
Annual Inflation Shows Sharp Price Increases
The annual SPI data showed considerably larger price increases in several essential commodities.
Onions recorded the highest year-on-year increase at 125.86%, followed by LPG at 55.66% and wheat flour at 45.28%. Tomato prices were 36.69% higher than a year earlier, while diesel increased by 36.33%.
Petrol prices rose by 29.84% year-on-year, while electricity charges for the first quarter increased by 25.24%.
Other significant annual increases were recorded in chilli powder, mutton, bananas, beef and plain bread.
However, several commodities became cheaper compared with the same period last year. Potato prices declined by 31.33%, chicken by 23.87%, sugar by 19.33% and eggs by 17.97%.
Fertiliser And Cement Prices
The average price of Sona Urea remained unchanged at Rs4,684 per 50kg bag during the week. However, its price was 6.81% higher compared with the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the average price of cement stood at Rs1,549 per 50kg bag, showing a weekly decline of 0.59%. Despite the recent decrease, cement remained 9.88% more expensive than a year earlier.
The SPI tracks prices of 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 cities. The weekly indicator provides policymakers with a near-real-time assessment of price movements and short-term inflationary pressures across the country.