Pakistan Weekly Inflation Jumps to 11.85% as LPG Prices Soar 22.44% in a Week
Pakistan’s weekly inflation has climbed again, and the numbers released this week show household budgets are coming under fresh pressure. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported that short-term inflation rose by 0.65 per cent in the week ended October 22, 2026, while the annual rate jumped to 11.85 per cent. The spike was driven mainly by liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), chicken and onion prices, which all recorded sharp week-on-week increases.
The latest figures mark a reversal from the previous week’s small 0.04 per cent decline, and the annual inflation rate accelerated from 11.38 per cent to 11.85 per cent. For ordinary families, the Pakistan weekly inflation data confirms what shoppers have already been feeling at the market: essentials are getting more expensive again.
What the Pakistan weekly inflation numbers show
Every week, the PBS tracks 51 essential items sold in open markets across the country to build its Sensitive Price Indicator, the most widely watched measure of Pakistan weekly inflation. In the week ended October 22, prices of 19 items (37.25 per cent) increased, 12 items (23.53 per cent) became cheaper, and 20 items (39.22 per cent) remained unchanged.
The breadth of the rise is what stands out. This is not a single item pulling the index up. Fuel, food and household essentials all moved higher together, which is why the inflation rate in Pakistan accelerated at both the weekly and annual level.
LPG prices drive the weekly inflation spike
LPG recorded the steepest weekly increase of any item in the basket, surging 22.44 per cent in just seven days. The average price of an 11.67-kilogram LPG cylinder jumped from Rs5,154.16 to Rs6,310.76 during the week — an increase of more than Rs1,150 on a single household cylinder.
Compared with the same week last year, the picture is even starker: LPG prices are up 107.12 per cent on an annual basis, meaning the cost of cooking gas has more than doubled in twelve months. Winter is approaching, and LPG demand always rises in the colder months, which adds to the worry for families that depend on cylinders for cooking and heating.
Food prices push weekly inflation higher
Food items were the second-biggest driver of weekly inflation in Pakistan. Live chicken became 12.20 per cent more expensive in a single week, with the average price rising from Rs395.98 to Rs444.27 per kilogram. Onions were up 4.19 per cent, moving from Rs180.99 to Rs188.57 per kilogram — and on an annual basis, onions are now 72.81 per cent costlier than a year ago.
Everyday kitchen staples also moved up. Wheat flour rose 1 per cent, taking a 20-kilogram bag from Rs2,946.72 to Rs2,976.12. Plain bread was up 1.66 per cent, garlic 0.74 per cent, firewood 0.71 per cent, and both georgette fabric and vegetable ghee by 0.59 per cent each. Beef and pulse mash recorded smaller increases of 0.31 and 0.30 per cent. Even clothing felt the pressure, with shirting up 1.86 per cent.
The data also shows electricity charges for the lowest-use group are 58.59 per cent higher than a year ago — a heavy burden on the smallest households, which already spend the largest share of their income on essentials.
The small relief items in the Pakistan weekly inflation basket
It was not all bad news in the weekly inflation report. Tomatoes recorded the largest weekly price decline at 21.99 per cent, with the average price falling from Rs119.43 to Rs93.17 per kilogram — a welcome break after months of volatility.
Fuel prices also offered some relief. Petrol fell 3.63 per cent to Rs381.67 per litre, while high-speed diesel dropped 1.68 per cent to Rs392.17 per litre. Bananas became 2.42 per cent cheaper, potatoes 1.38 per cent, pulse gram 0.93 per cent, eggs 0.58 per cent, and powdered milk 0.38 per cent. Broken basmati rice and sugar each declined by 0.35 per cent.
What the weekly inflation trend means for households
The Pakistan weekly inflation data for the week ended October 22 tells a familiar story: when global fuel prices and local supply pressures move together, the poorest households feel it first. LPG and food dominate the spending of low-income families, and both are rising at double-digit rates.
For now, the official data confirms what markets across the country have been signalling for days — prices are climbing again, and families will need to stretch their budgets further in the weeks ahead.
Sources: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics weekly Sensitive Price Indicator data, week ended October 22, 2026, as reported in Pakistani media.
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