PAKISTAN’S INFLATION SKYROCKETS TO OVER 11%

Inflation in Pakistan skyrocketed to over 11 per cent amid a surge in food prices amid the Ministry of Finance’s failure to give a realistic and professional assessment of the increasing prices in its monthly reports.

The Consumer Price Index jumped to 11.1 per cent in April over the same month a year ago. It was the highest rate of inflation in the past 13 months. In February 2020, inflation had jumped to 12.4 per cent, reported The Express Tribune. The inflation rate is significantly higher than 8 to 9.5 per cent projection given by the Ministry of Finance four days ago in its monthly bulletin.

Sources told The Express Tribune that the economic adviser wing of the finance ministry knew about these estimates but it still published an unrealistic figure. The market expectation was that the inflation would remain around 11 per cent due to abnormally high prices of food items in Ramazan.

The electricity rates in Pakistan were 29 per cent higher than a year ago and almost all kitchen items recorded a double-digit rise in prices, including wheat, sugar and wheat flour, according to PBS data.

Chicken prices in April recorded almost 100 per cent growth in prices, followed by 81 per cent increase in prices of tomatoes, 42 per cent eggs and wheat prices were up by 27 per cent over a year.

Reporting a significant increase in inflation in both rural areas and the cities, with food inflation also rising to 15.7 per cent – a jump of over 4.2 per cent within a month, according to the PBS.

The Express Tribune reported that the inflation rate for the housing, water, electricity, gas and fuel group – having one-fourth weight in the basket – increased to 9.7 per cent last month.

Meanwhile, the retail market prices reach to wholesale prices level in four to six months, indicating that the prices will remain high in near term in Pakistan.