Inflation declined to 10.2 percent in March

Pakistan Institute of Statistics (BPS) has said that for the second consecutive month, inflation declined to 10.2 percent in March, from 12.4 percent in the previous month, due to a fall in key commodity prices.

This is the first time since July last year that inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) saw a second consecutive month of decline, resulting in improved food supply and lower energy prices.

Data collected from the market to estimate monthly inflation shows that many markets were active in the first part of March, but that would be difficult to do in April due to the lockdown.

For a limited time across Pakistan, most of these markets have been allowed to open stores that sell used kitchen items, fruits and vegetables.

Despite the use of LPG cylinders for cooking in rural areas, prices of vegetables, fruits and pulses have seen a significant drop and the lowest level of inflation was 10.2% in the last seven months.

A PBS official told that PBS collects data from the market on the 15th of every month in regards to food and drink items in the kitchen.

However, prices of electricity, gas, LPG and petroleum products are fixed by the government, which are readily available.

He claimed that 'we will have no problem with inflation even in April' and that the data will be collected between April 11 and April 15.

He added that the main commodities that cause inflation to rise, such as commodities, are available in the market and most of the goods besides food are priced consistently.

However, on an annual basis, urban food inflation increased by 13% in March and 0.6% on a monthly basis. Similarly, in rural areas, the rate increased by 15.5% on an annual basis and 0.3% on a monthly basis.