ISLAMABAD: Shortterm inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), further slowed to 0.44 per cent year-on-year in the week ending Jan 30 due to a decline in the prices of perishable food items.

The sharp deceleration in the SPI-based inflation for the fifth week was mainly due to a decline in prices of tomatoes, potatoes, onions and wheat flour.

According to Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday, the SPI eased 0.36pc week-onweek.

The items whose prices saw a decline week-onweek included tomatoes (16.18pc), onions (12.32pc), potatoes (7.66pc), eggs (5.09pc), pulse gram (3.67pc), LPG (3.21pc), pulse masoor (1.32pc), electricity charges for Q1 (0.99pc), wheat flour bag (0.95pc), garlic (0.41pc) and firewood (0.27pc).

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included bananas (4.60pc), sugar (3.39pc), chicken (0.93pc), rice basmati broken (0.70pc), cooking oil 5-litre (0.40pc), vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.32pc), beef (0.28pc) and vegetable ghee 2.5 Kg (0.26pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included potatoes (34.95pc), pulse gram (32.92pc), pulse moong (32.01pc), powdered milk (25.71pc), beef (22.52pc), vegetable ghee 1 kg (17.46pc), garlic (15.82pc), gas charges for Q1 (15.52pc) and vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (15.05pc).

In contrast,the prices of onions dropped 54.36pc, followed by eggs (37.38pc), wheat flour (36.77pc), tomatoes (35.82pc), chillies powder (20pc), electricity charges for Q1 (18.92pc), pulse masoor (11.48pc), pulse mash (10.56pc), diesel (6.36pc), petrol (6.07pc) and LPG (3.47pc).