SPI inflation eases to 11.38%: atta up 3.4% and chicken 3.3% in a week, tomatoes down 23%
The weekly index slipped 0.04% after the petrol cut and a 23% fall in tomato prices, but flour, chicken and pulses kept climbing. Here is what moved and what it means for a kitchen budget.
SPI inflation in Pakistan was 11.38% year on year in the week ended 15 October 2026, down from 11.97% a week earlier, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) figures released on Friday and reported by Dawn. On the week the Sensitive Price Indicator fell 0.04%, the first weekly dip after the 0.57% jump we reported last Friday.
The SPI tracks 51 everyday items in 50 markets across 17 cities, so it is the quickest weekly read of what a household spends on food and fuel.
What went up this week
Of the 51 items, 23 rose, 7 fell and 21 were unchanged. The biggest weekly increases were:
| Item | Week-on-week |
|---|---|
| Pulse gram | +4.97% |
| Wheat flour | +3.36% |
| Chicken | +3.31% |
| Eggs | +0.99% |
| Pulse mash | +0.98% |
| Pulse masoor | +0.95% |
| Firewood | +0.69% |
| Diesel | +0.47% |
| LPG | +0.42% |
Flour has now risen two weeks running, after a 5.69% jump the week before.
What got cheaper
Tomatoes fell 23.05% in a week, onions 4.90%, bananas 2.59%, petrol 0.70%, broken basmati rice 0.65%, sugar 0.62% and gur 0.36%. The petrol fall reflects the Rs 3.63 cut that took effect on 16 October (our story); the next SPI week will show more of it.
Against a year ago
The year-on-year list is where the pressure shows. Onions are up 75.19%, LPG 68.95%, electricity for the lowest-use households 58.59%, petrol 49.60%, diesel 43.98% and wheat flour 35.13%. Chicken is up 20.77%, chilli powder 15.55%, mutton 14.90% and beef 12.27%.
Some staples are cheaper than in October 2025: tomatoes (down 63.65%), potatoes (39.93%), sugar (23.20%), eggs (19.83%), salt (14.86%) and masoor (8.97%).
Why it stays in double digits
Weekly inflation has been above 10% for several weeks. Dawn's report puts most of it on fuel: petrol and diesel prices now change most days, and transport costs feed into flour, pulses and chicken a week or two later.
What it means for you
- Atta: flour is up 35% on a year and has risen two weeks in a row, so it is the item to watch in your monthly budget.
- Fuel: check your own monthly spend with the fuel cost calculator, and follow PSO's daily price on our petrol price page.
- Gas cylinders: LPG is up almost 69% on a year; if you use piped gas, see what a month costs with the gas bill calculator.
The monthly consumer price index (CPI), which the State Bank uses for interest-rate decisions, is on our CPI inflation page.
Frequently asked questions
- What is SPI inflation this week in Pakistan?
- For the week ended 15 October 2026 the SPI was 11.38% higher than a year earlier and 0.04% lower than the week before, PBS figures show.
- Which prices rose most this week?
- Pulse gram (4.97%), wheat flour (3.36%) and chicken (3.31%) rose most; tomatoes fell 23.05% and petrol 0.70%.
Sources
- Short-term inflation surges to 11.38pc due to costly food: Dawn
- Weekly Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI): Pakistan Bureau of Statistics
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