December 2021 once again saw a double-digit increase in the prices of consumer items as inflation edged up to 12.3% from 11.5% in November 2021, data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Saturday.
Analysts have already expected inflation to reach double digits because the current CPI inflation is in line with their expectations.
From a month-on-month point of view, inflation remained “flat”. Affected by the sharp drop in food inflation, it fell slightly by 0.02%.
According to data from Arif Habib Limited (AHL), inflation in December was the highest level in 22 months (February 2020: 12.40%).
Tawfiq said: “The year-on-year increase was fueled by non-food items — household equipment. Moreover, the base inflation last year was lower.”
“A slight decrease of 0.02% on a month-on-month basis came on the back of an improvement in food inflation,” she said.
