ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s inflation rate eased to 10.3% in September, down from 11.1% in August. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released the figures on Thursday.
This breaks last month’s upward run. In August, food and energy costs had driven inflation up to 11.1% from 9.2% in July.
September’s rate of 10.3% is nearly double the 5.8% recorded in the same month last year. So even with the slowdown, the cost of living remains far higher than it was 12 months ago.
Prices also kept rising within the month itself. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) climbed 1.3% in September compared with August, even as the yearly rate eased.
The slowdown came mostly from food. Urban food inflation fell to 8.1% in September from 12.1% in August. In rural areas, it dropped even further, from 13.2% to 7.7%.
Non-food costs moved the other way. Urban non-food inflation rose to 11.5% from 9.4%. Rural non-food inflation climbed to 13.1% from 11.3%.
Three costs stood out in September:
- Electricity charges rose 15.28%
- Motor fuel prices in urban areas rose 10.76%
- Transport costs rose 5.75% over the month, and were 27.43% higher than in September last year
