According to a report released on Thursday by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate in Pakistan decreased to 23.8 percent in November 2022 from 26.6 percent in October, primarily as a result of lower costs for rent, utilities, food, and transportation.
It’s interesting to note that core inflation, which does not include the cost of food and energy, also decreased from 14.9 percent in October 2022, the highest level since 2010, to 14.6 percent in November.
The State Bank of Pakistan may change its aggressive approach if the downward trend in core inflation continues, as the bank recently raised the discount rate by 100 basis points to 16 percent.
The CPI basket’s biggest weighting is assigned to food inflation, which between 2011 and 2022 averaged 8.21%, with a peak of 36.24% in October 2022 and a record low of -1.061% in September 2015.
The inflation rate for food in November was 31.16 percent. In comparison to 11.92 percent in October, the cost of utilities (water, electricity, gas, and fuels) and housing rent were both recorded at 9.9 percent.
Similar to this, transportation costs increased by 44.22 percent in November (53.43pc in October). Restaurant and lodging costs decreased somewhat from 30.4 percent in October to 28.4 percent.
In contrast, prices for health grew to 17.1 percent in November from 16.3 percent in October, costs for equipping and maintaining home appliances increased to 29.1 percent from 27.6 percent, and costs for education increased to 11.1 percent from 10.9 percent in October.
The price of clothing and footwear climbed by 18.58% in November compared to 18.28% in October.
Price increases for tobacco and alcoholic beverages reached 35.9 percent from 34.6 percent in October.
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