July inflation jumps to 8.3 pct on higher food prices

ISLAMABAD: Inflation in Pakistan accelerated sharply in July to more than 8 per cent, largely due to higher food prices during the holy Muslim month of Ramazan. Prices rose to 8.3 per cent in July compared with a year earlier, from 5.8 per cent in June, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Thursday. “The surge is due to Ramadan and the increase in prices of wheat and tomatoes,” Shaukat Zaman Butt, director of the bureau, told reporters. “There were no imports of tomatoes which (also contributed) to the surge.” On a month-on-month basis, prices rose 2.02 per cent from June, the bureau said. Analysts had widely expected the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to go up to around 8 per cent in July due to seasonal factors. Prices for food items such as vegetables, fruits, rice and wheat tend to go up every year during the fasting month. Average inflation over 12 months was 11.08 per cent during the fiscal year from June 2011 until June 2012.