SPI inflation rises to 11.85%: LPG up 22% in a week, chicken 12%, flour 1%

Pakistan's weekly inflation (SPI) rose to 11.85% year on year in the week ending 22 October 2026, up from 11.38% the week before, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics figures released on Friday and reported by Dawn. Prices rose 0.65% in a single week. The SPI has now stayed in double digits for several weeks running.

The Sensitive Price Indicator tracks 51 everyday items in 50 markets across 17 cities. This week 19 items got dearer, 12 got cheaper and 20 did not move.

What got more expensive this week

The biggest single jump was in LPG, up 22.44% in one week and 107% on the year, which means a cylinder now costs more than twice what it did last October. In the Senate on Friday, Sherry Rehman said Pakistan imports about 70% of its LPG and expects only two cargoes this year against five last year.

Flour keeps climbing: up 1% on the week and 36.49% on the year, after shortages in Punjab. On Friday Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif set an indicative wheat price of Rs 4,500 per maund for the 2027 crop, Rs 1,000 more than last year.

What got cheaper

Petrol and diesel fell on the week but are still more than 40% dearer than a year ago. Sugar, eggs, potatoes and tomatoes are all far cheaper than last October.

What it means for a household budget

The items moving most are the ones a family cannot skip: cooking gas, flour, chicken and onions. Electricity for the lowest-income group (Q1) is up 58.59% on the year in the same data. A few ways to keep track:

• See the monthly CPI trend on our inflation data page.
• Work out your power bill under current slabs with the electricity bill calculator, and compare piped gas costs with the gas bill calculator.
• Check whether your pay rise is keeping up with prices using the salary increment calculator.

The SPI is a weekly measure of short-term prices; the monthly CPI, which covers a much wider basket, is the official inflation figure and is released at the start of each month.