SPI registers decrease in kitchen items’ prices
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) for the week ended on October 25, 2007 for lowest income group upto Rs. 3000 has registered decrease of 0.45 per cent over the previous week.
The SPI for the week under review in the above mentioned group was recorded at 168.61 as against 169.38 recorded in the previous week, according to Federal Bureau of Statistics (FBS).
The weekly SPI has been computed with base 2000-2001=100 covering 17 urban centres and 53 essential items for all income groups and combined.
The SPI for the combined group registered a reduction of 0.79 percent by decreasing from 164.96 in the previous week to 163.65 in the week under review.
During the week under review average prices of 11 items registered decrease, while that of 14 items increased with the remaining 28 items’ prices unchanged.
The items which recorded decrease in their average prices during the week under review included, tomatoes, onions, chicken (farm), potatoes, bananas, LPG ( 11 kg cylender), gur, sugar, rice basmati broken, moong pulse washed, and mash pulse washed.
The items which registered increase in their prices included, egg hen (farm), red chillies, mustard oil, wheat average quality, wheat flour average quality, bath soap lifebuoy, voil printed material, vegetable ghee, masoor pulse washed, garlic, electricity bulb, rice irri, coarse latha material and beef.
The items with no change in their average prices during the week under review included, gram pulse washed, mutton, bread plain, milk fresh liter, milk powdered (Nido), curd, vegetable, cooking oil (tin), salt powdered, tea packet, tea (prepared), cooked beef plate, cooked dal plate, cigarettes k-2, lawn material, shirting material, sandal gents (Bata), sandal ladies (Bata), chappal spng.(Bata), kerosene liter, firewood, match box, washing soap nylon, gas charges up to 3.3719 MMBTU, electricity charges, petrol liter, diesel liter and telephone local call.