Pakistan’s annual consumer inflation rate declined for the second consecutive month, falling to 9.6% in October from 10.3% in September, as easing food prices helped moderate overall price pressures.
The latest decline follows a sharp increase in August, when rising food and energy costs pushed annual inflation to 11.1%, up from 9.2% in July.
Inflation eased in both urban and rural areas. The urban inflation rate declined to 9.8% in October from 10.5% in September, while rural inflation fell to 9.5% from 10.1%.
The October inflation reading remained within the Ministry of Finance’s projected range of 9.5% to 10.5% for the month. The ministry has noted that moderating headline inflation and improved crop supplies could help reduce pressure on food prices.
Despite the decline in the annual inflation rate, consumer prices increased by 1.1% month-on-month in October. By comparison, annual inflation stood at 6.2% in October last year.
Average inflation during the first four months of the current fiscal year, from July to October, reached 10.05%, compared with 4.79% during the corresponding period last year.
The slowdown was largely driven by lower inflation in perishable food items. Urban food inflation declined to 7.8% in October from 8.1% in September, while rural food inflation dropped more sharply to 7.1% from 7.7%.
Non-food inflation also eased, although it continued to put pressure on household budgets. Urban non-food inflation fell to 10.6% from 11.5% in September, while the rural rate declined to 12.3% from 13.1%.
The October data showed a mixed trend across major spending categories, with food inflation slowing while electricity and transport costs continued to rise.
Electricity charges increased by 8.50% month-on-month, while transport prices in urban areas surged by 30.39%.
At the national level, transport costs rose by 1.79% in October compared with the previous month and were 28.61% higher than a year earlier.
Housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels recorded a monthly increase of 0.25%, while prices in this category rose by 11.03% on an annual basis.
Core inflation, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, also moderated in October.
The urban core inflation rate fell to 7.8% from 8.6% in September, while the rural rate declined to 7.1% from 8.1%.
The figures indicate that underlying inflationary pressures eased during the month, although increases in key household expenses, particularly transport and electricity, continued to affect consumers.
