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Pak: Inflation hits double digits after nearly six years
[DAWN] Inflation has entered double digits in the first month of the new fiscal year, the biggest increase in five years and nine months.Inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 10.34 per cent in July this year from 8.9pc the preceding month, the Pakistain Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday. During the same month last year, inflation stood at 5.84pc. The last time inflation entered the double digits was in November 2013 and recorded at 10.9pc. The upward adjustments in prices of petroleum products over the past few months, followed by an increase in electricity and gas tariffs fuelled the total inflation. The government also introduced certain tax measures, the cumulative impact of which dragged the overall inflation to double digits. The rupee depreciation also led to an increase in prices of imported consumer and non-consumer items, especially raw material used in manufacturing of industrial products, over the past few months. The government has projected an inflation target of 11pc to 13pc for the fiscal year 2019-20, compared to 7.3pc recorded in 2018-19. Price levels, perked up in the first month of the current fiscal year, appear to have been driven by a spike in non-food inflation in July. Posted by: Fred 2019-08-03 |
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