Consumer inflation falls to 9.6pc in Oct from 10.3pc in Sept

According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, consumer inflation in Pakistan slowed to 9.6% in October from 10.3% in September. The decrease was primarily due to a slight decline in the prices of perishable food items. This was the second consecutive month of easing, following a sharp rise in August when higher food and energy prices pushed the annual inflation rate to 11.1% from 9.2% in July.

Inflation trends were observed in both rural and urban areas, with rural inflation falling to 9.5% from 10.1% and urban inflation decreasing to 9.8% from 10.5%. The October figure also fell within the Ministry of Finance's projected range of 9.5% to 10.5% for the month. While the easing of headline inflation is seen as a relief, prices still rose by 1.1% month-on-month in October.

The annual inflation rate for the same period last year was 6.2%. The average inflation between July and October stood at 10.05%, compared to 4.79% over the same period in the previous year. The slowdown in inflation was mainly driven by perishable food prices, with food inflation dropping to 7.8% in urban areas and 7.1% in rural areas.

However, non-food inflation continued to exert pressure on household expenses, with urban non-food inflation decelerating to 10.6% from 11.5% and rural non-food inflation falling to 12.3% from 13.1%. The shift in inflation composition was evident in October, as food inflation slowed sharply while electricity and transport costs continued to rise.

Electricity charges increased by 8.50% from the previous month, and transport prices rose by 30.39% in urban areas, reaching 28.61% higher than in the same month last year. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuels also increased by 0.25% during the month and by 11.03% annually. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy components, also eased slightly, standing at 7.8% in urban areas and 7.1% in rural areas in October.