Inflation rate eases to 3.25 per cent in March

1

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s annual inflation rate eased to 3.25 per cent in March from 3.86 per cent a month earlier, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Monday.

On a month-on-month basis, the inflation rate was 0.31 per cent in March, the bureau said further.

Food items such as onions, tomatoes and green chillies were said to be the main reason behind the decrease in month-on-month prices.

The PBS noted that the average inflation rate from July to March (2017-18) increased by 3.78 per cent compared to the same period from 2016-17. Similarly, the inflation rate increased to 3.25 per cent in March 2018 compared to the same month last year.

According to a PBS press release, in March this year, the consumer price index increased by 0.31 per cent, wholesale price index increased by 0.25 per cent while the sensitive price index decreased by 0.60 per cent.

In a comparison of prices of certain commodities from February 2017, the PBS stated that the price of betel nuts increased by 581.6 per cent whereas the price of tomatoes decreased by 54.33 per cent.