Pakistan's weekly inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased by 29.21 percent on a year-on-year basis, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Thursday.

The PBS said that the SPI was computed to assess the price movement of essential commodities and it comprised 51 essential items collected from 50 markets in 17 cities of the country.

The PBS data showed that the prices of wheat flour, rice, tea, potatoes, tomatoes, chilies powder, chicken, cigarettes and natural gas increased significantly during the week ended on July 26 as compared to the corresponding period last year.

On the other hand, the prices of onions, pulse and others decreased during the same period.

The SPI for the week ended on July 26 rose by 3.73 percent on a week-on-week basis with a major increase observed in the prices of food items, chilies powder, tomatoes, eggs, garlic and onion.

The prices of bananas, sugar, cooking, and wheat flour showed a downward trajectory, said the PBS, adding that out of 51 items, prices of 20 items increased, seven items decreased, and 24 items remained stable during the last week.

Source: Xinhua Finance Agency