Pakistan concluded fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) with a higher average inflation rate than the previous year, despite a slight easing in monthly price pressures in June, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday.
The country’s average Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for FY26 stood at 7.05 percent, compared with 4.49 percent recorded during FY25, reflecting a notable increase in the overall cost of living.
On a year-on-year basis, headline inflation measured 11.1 percent in June 2026, slightly lower than 11.7 percent in May but significantly higher than the 3.2 percent recorded in June 2025. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices declined 0.3 percent after rising 0.5 percent in May.
Urban inflation reached 11.2 percent year-on-year in June, easing from 11.8 percent in May but remaining well above the 3.0 percent recorded a year earlier. On a monthly basis, urban prices fell 0.5 percent following a 0.7 percent increase in May.
Rural inflation also showed a slight moderation, standing at 10.9 percent year-on-year compared with 11.5 percent in May. However, it remained substantially higher than the 3.6 percent recorded in June 2025. Monthly rural inflation remained unchanged after increasing 0.3 percent in the previous month.
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks short-term price movements of essential commodities, increased 12.8 percent year-on-year in June, up from 12.0 percent in May. On a monthly basis, the SPI remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation slowed to 10.7 percent year-on-year from 12.7 percent in May but was significantly higher than the 0.6 percent recorded in June last year. Wholesale prices declined 1.2 percent month-on-month after falling 0.8 percent in May.
Core inflation also remained elevated despite easing marginally. Urban non-food, non-energy inflation stood at 8.7 percent year-on-year in June, compared with 9.0 percent in May, while rural core inflation eased to 7.9 percent from 8.4 percent.
The trimmed mean core inflation, which excludes extreme price movements, stood at 9.6 percent in urban areas and 9.3 percent in rural areas, both slightly lower than the previous month but considerably higher than the corresponding levels recorded in June 2025.
The latest inflation figures indicate that while monthly price pressures eased towards the end of the fiscal year, underlying inflation remained elevated, leaving Pakistan with a higher average inflation rate in FY26 compared with the previous fiscal year.
