Annual consumer inflation contained at 29.4pc in June
Business
PBS shows slight improvement in inflation
LAHORE (Web Desk) – Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation has been contained at 29.4 per cent year-on-year in June easing sharply from a record high 38pc in May, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics says.
Month-on-month inflation declined to -0.3pc in June, the bureau showed, adding the annual increase in consumer prices in June was the lowest since January.
The bureau highlighted average inflation in the 2022-23 fiscal year (July-June) came in at 29.18pc compared to 12.15pc in the previous year.
Inflation in urban and rural areas increased to 27.34pc and 32.41pc year-on-year, respectively.
“The decline in inflation can be attributed mainly to high base effect and decline in food and domestic petroleum products’ prices,” said Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited Securities.
He expected for FY24, the inflation would clock in at 20.6pc, primarily due to base impact and relatively eased-off commodity prices tagged with expected stabilisation in the currency.
The IMF recent package is a huge relief for the cash-starved Pakistan. The country had been facing an acute balance of payment crisis and a threat of a debt default.
A string of painful policy and fiscal adjustments Islamabad made to secure the IMF deal slowed down the economy and fuelled the record inflation in May.
