{
  "id": 17793757,
  "title": "Consumer inflation falls to 9.6pc in Oct from 10.3pc in Sept",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/consumer-inflation-falls-to-9-6pc-in-oct-from-10-3pc-in-sept",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-02T12:08:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2041620/consumer-inflation-falls-to-96pc-in-oct-from-103pc-in-sept"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "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.",
  "summary": "ISLAMABAD: Consumer inflation eased to 9.6 per cent in October from 10.3pc a month earlier , mainly due to a slight slowdown in perishable food products, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. The slowdown in the inflation rate for the second consecutive month, measured by the Consumer Price Index, reversed the sharp increase recorded in August , when higher food and energy prices…",
  "key_points": [
    "Consumer inflation in Pakistan fell to 9.6% in October from 10.3% in September",
    "Decrease attributed to drop in perishable food item prices",
    "Inflation within projected range of 9.5% to 10.5%"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}