Pricey food items push inflation to record level in April
Inflation in Pakistan surged to a record 36.4 per cent in April from a year earlier, driven mainly by skyrocketing food prices and rising energy costs, official data showed on Tuesday. The finance ministry in its recent report projected that inflation would remain in the range of 36-38pc mainly due to the rupee’s depreciation and rising administered prices, which contributed to the increase in overall prices. The lower-income segment of the society is already feeling the brunt of high inflation, which has become unrelenting on the back of political instability, financial mismanagement and delay in an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. According to a finance ministry report, slow recovery from the flood-led damages had caused the supply of essential crops to remain short of domestic requirements, consequently intensifying inflation. On the other hand, the central bank was enacting contractionary monetary policy, “but inflationary expectations are not settling down”, it said. Monthly inflation — measured by a basket of products and services called the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — stayed above 20pc for the 11th month from June to April. It then hit 31.6pc in February, crossed 35pc in March and now further escalated to 36.4pc. The reading was 13.4pc in April last year.