After a significant decline in fuel prices, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI) inflation eased by 1.7% during the week ended on October 19, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

Major decrease was observed in the prices of food items including onions which declined by 8.45%, chicken recording a decrease of 5.46%, pulse masoor by 3.38%, sugar by 3.07%, garlic by 2.24%, rice basmati broken by 2.17%, gur 2.17% and bananas showing a decline of 1.56 % during the week under review.

The commodities that showed an increase included eggs up by 3.44%, salt 2.63%, shirting 2.18%, mutton 1.01%, beef 0.84%, cooked beef 0.72%, washing soap (0.48%), along with tea cooked daal, and potatoes.

The caretaker government decreased the petrol price by Rs40 and diesel by Rs15 respectively on October 16. The new price of petrol is Rs283.38/litre and diesel rate is Rs303.18 per litre.

“Owing to the decreasing trend of petroleum prices in the international market and due to the appreciation of the Pakistani rupee against the US dollar, the government has decided to revise the existing consumer prices of petroleum products,” the government said in a notification.