Pakistan’s annual inflation rate punched in at 7.2% in October 2024, up from 6.9% in September but markedly lower than the 26.8% recorded in October 2023, data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) showed on Friday.
The reading reinforced months of easing inflation — which hit a historic high of 38% last year and was at 26.8% in October 2023 — ahead of a meeting of the country’s central bank next week to review the policy rate, which stands at 17.5%.
The consumer price index (CPI) data beat the market as well as government forecasts of 6.8%, bringing the average inflation for the first four months of FY2025 to 8.7%, down from 28.5% in the same period of FY2024.
On a monthly basis, the CPI increased 1.2% in October, reversing from a 0.5% decline in September and up from a 1.0% increase in October 2023.
Core inflation, excluding food and energy, increased by 9.8% year-on-year in October, slightly lower than September’s 10.4% rise and well below the 21.8% recorded a year earlier.
Month-on-month, core CPI edged up 0.6% in October, compared to a 0.3% increase in September and a 1.1% rise in October 2023.
Ministry of Finance in its monthly economic outlook released on Wednesday projected the inflation to hover around 6-7% in October and was optimistic that it would fall as low as 5.5–6.5% in November 2024.
Economic recovery will take advantage of declining inflation and the continuation of fiscal consolidation in the coming months, the report added.
