In an alarming development, Pakistan’s inflation — measured by the consumer price index (CPI) — broke all previous records and skyrocketed to 31.5% in February due to a steep rise in prices of food, housing, and transportation groups.
The fresh inflation reading issued by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday has also augmented the prospects of a further rise in interest rates in the upcoming monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting — which the central bank has preponed for March 2.
The inflation rate rushed to 31.5% in February over the year — the highest since the available data i.e. July 1965. Last time, in April 1975, the inflation had been recorded at slightly over 29%.