Pakistani inflation at six-month high: 43%; Details here

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) declined by 0.06 percent week-on-week. This was the highest level since the week ending June 1, when SPI inflation was 43.17 percent.

Islamabad: Weekly inflation in Pakistan remained at a six-month high of 43.16 percent in the week ended December 14, as rising food prices continued to put pressure on consumers, a media report said. The main drivers of inflation were food products, especially sugar, pulses, eggs and rice, whose prices rose sharply during the year, The News reported.

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS), the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) declined by 0.06 percent week-on-week. This was the highest level since the week ending June 1, when SPI inflation was 43.17 percent, The News reported.

It was also the fifth week in a row that SPI inflation remained above 40 percent. For the week ending November 16, the SPI was 41.9 percent, on November 23 (41.13 percent), November 30 (41.06 percent), December 7 (42.68 percent) and now at 43.16 percent .

The country faces serious inflationary pressures. The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) kept interest rates unchanged at a record high of 22 percent earlier this week amid signs of easing inflationary pressures following a recent rise in gas prices, The News reported. In response to high inflation, the SBP has hiked interest rates by a total of 15 percentage points over the past two years.