Inflation hits highest level on record, will rise further

Last month, prices rose at the fastest pace ever in the country’s history, according to available data, with food, beverage and transport costs driving inflation to a point where analysts fear “families will have to make choices and sacrifices”. Monthly inflation, measured by a basket of products called the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped to 31.6 per cent in February year-on-year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. This was the highest annual rate since available data, i.e. July 1965, according to the research firm Arif Habib Ltd, and is also expected to rise even further in the coming months. Inflation surpassed 30pc last month after having stayed above 20pc for eight months from June to January. “The 30 per cent figure is where families will have to make choices and sacrifices,” analyst Torek Farhadi told AFP. Inflation was 12.2pc in February last year.