Pakistan’s weekly inflation increased by 0.57% in the week ended October 8, 2026, while the annual inflation rate climbed to 11.97%, up from 11.53% in the previous week, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS). The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) recorded a sharper weekly increase compared with 0.21% in the preceding week, driven by rising prices of essential food items, fuel and household commodities.
Wheat flour recorded the highest weekly price increase of 5.69%, followed by chicken at 4.93% and gram pulse at 3.99%. Petrol and tomatoes both became 2.40% more expensive, while masoor pulse prices increased by 1.29%. The average price of a 20kg wheat flour bag rose to Rs2,851.04 from Rs2,697.45, while chicken prices increased to Rs383.31 per kilogram.
The PBS report showed that prices of 20 out of 51 essential commodities increased during the week, while six recorded declines and 25 remained unchanged. LPG prices rose by 0.57%, taking the average price of an 11.67kg cylinder to Rs5,132.47. Petrol prices increased to Rs398.87 per litre, compared with Rs389.51 in the previous week.
On a year-on-year basis, onion prices recorded the highest increase at 100.24%, followed by LPG at 68.55%, electricity charges for the lowest consumption group at 58.59%, petrol at 47.52% and diesel at 42.52%. Wheat flour prices also increased by 32.60% compared with the corresponding week last year.
Meanwhile, several commodities became cheaper. Banana prices declined by 2.81% during the week, followed by high-speed diesel at 1.37%, potatoes at 0.89% and sugar at 0.37%. The combined SPI rose to 372.58 points from 370.46 in the preceding week, reflecting continued pressure on household budgets as essential commodity prices remain elevated.
