Pakistan’s annual inflation falls to 34-month low

Pakistan’s annual consumer price inflation rate slowed to 9.6% in August, the first single-digit reading in almost three years, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Monday.

“CPI general inflation increased to 9.6pc on year-on-year basis in August 2024 as compared to an increase of 11.1pc in the previous month and 27.4pc in August 2023,” PBS said.

The monthly inflation rate was 0.39pc, the PBS said.

Urban areas experienced an inflation rate of 11.7 per cent, while rural areas saw a lower rate of 6.7 per cent in August. This decline continues the downward trend observed in July when inflation was 11.1 per cent YoY, compared to 12.6 per cent in June and 28.3 per cent in July 2023.

In July, inflation had risen to 11.1pc on a YoY basis as compared to an increase of 12.6pc in the month of June and 28.3pc in July 2023. In May, it had hit 11.8pc — a 30-month low.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had expressed satisfaction over a falling rate of inflation and improvements in other economic indicators.

It should be noted that Pakistan struck a deal last month with the International Monetary Fund for a $7 billion loan programme that includes tough measures such as higher taxes on farm incomes and electricity prices.