Pakistan’s inflation rises to 31.4% y/y amid high energy prices
The Hindu
Pakistan's inflation rate rose to 31.4% in Sep, a record high, due to fuel & energy price hikes & import restrictions. The IMF loan programme & clampdown on unregulated FX trade have eased inflation, expected to recede to 26-27% in coming months. Economic & political tensions remain.
Pakistan's inflation rate rose to 31.4% year-on-year in September from 27.4% in August, statistics bureau data showed on Monday, as the nation reels from high fuel and energy prices.
The country is embarking on a tricky path to economic recovery under a caretaker government after a $3 billion loan programme approved by the International Monetary Fund in July averted a sovereign debt default, but with conditions that complicated efforts to rein in inflation.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation climbed 2% in September, compared to an increase of 1.7% in August
Reforms required by the IMF bailout, including an easing of import restrictions and a demand that subsidies be removed, have already fuelled annual inflation, which rose to a record 38.0% in May.
Interest rates have also risen to their highest at 22%, and the rupee hit all-time lows in August before recovering in September to become the best performing currency following a clampdown by authorities on unregulated FX trade.
On Friday, the Ministry of Finance said in its monthly report that it anticipated inflation remaining high in the coming month, hovering around 29-31% due to an upward adjustment in energy tariffs and a major increase in fuel prices.
The report added that inflation was, however, expected to ease, especially from the second half of the current fiscal year that starts on January 1.