By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The headline inflation rate eased to 11.1 percent in July from 12.6 percent in June, the lowest level since November 2021, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Thursday.
The reading undershot expectations, with the finance ministry having forecast a range of 12-13 percent for the month.
On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.1 percent in July, compared to a 0.5 percent rise in June. Urban inflation eased to 13.2 percent year-on-year y in July from 14.9 percent in June, while rural inflation slowed to 8.1 percent year-on-year from 9.3 percent in June.
The PBS data showed that month-on-month urban inflation increased 2.0 percent in July, while rural inflation rose 2.2 percent. Food inflation slowed to 1.56 percent year-on-year, but rose 4.67 percent month-on-month.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, stood at 11.7 percent year-on-year in urban areas and 16.9 percent in rural areas.
Analysts attributed the slowdown to a high-base effect, lower petroleum prices, and a favorable domestic crop outlook.
“Good to see inflation slowing down gradually, though budget impact remains to be seen in a few months ahead, but largely the pace of inflation should be slowed given decline in petroleum prices,” analyst Khurram Schehzad said.
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