Despondent public

A sense of quiet despair hangs thick in the air. With Ramazan around the corner and Eid to follow right after, the inflation-weary citizenry must once again sit down for the depressing task of trimming their household budgets if they wish to continue to make ends meet. Even those who have been lucky to keep their heads above the water despite wave after wave of inflation will soon find it a challenge to stay afloat. The average 33pc inflation forecast for the first half of this year by Moody’s is likely to prove a trial by fire for the majority of Pakistani households already facing rapidly depleting savings and a constant struggle to balance their books. “There’s still an inevitably tough journey ahead,” as Moody’s senior economist Katrina Ell told Reuters in a recent interview. Low-income households will face an immense burden since much of the inflation is now being driven by non-discretionary items like food. “Food prices are high, and they can’t avoid paying for that, so we’re going to see higher poverty rates as well feed through,” Ms Ell noted in her interview.