Pakistan Reports Higher Inflation in FY26, Average CPI at 7.05%
Pakistan concluded its fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26) with a notably higher average inflation rate compared to the previous year. Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday revealed that the country’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation averaged 7.05 percent during FY26, up from 4.49 percent recorded in FY25. This rise highlights increasing pressures on the overall cost of living in the country.
Headline inflation on a year-on-year basis stood at 11.1 percent in June 2026, slightly down from 11.7 percent in May but significantly higher than the 3.2 percent registered in June 2025. On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices decreased by 0.3 percent after a 0.5 percent rise in May.
Urban inflation remained elevated at 11.2 percent year-on-year in June, easing somewhat from 11.8 percent in May but considerably exceeding the 3.0 percent recorded a year earlier. Monthly urban price levels declined by 0.5 percent following a 0.7 percent increase in May. Meanwhile, rural inflation moderated slightly to 10.9 percent year-on-year from 11.5 percent in May, yet still far above the 3.6 percent seen in June 2025. Monthly rural inflation remained flat after a 0.3 percent increase last month.
The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which monitors short-term price movements of essential goods, increased 12.8 percent year-on-year in June, up from 12.0 percent in May, while its monthly movement remained unchanged. Similarly, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation slowed to 10.7 percent year-on-year from 12.7 percent in May but was much higher compared to 0.6 percent in June last year. Wholesale prices decreased by 1.2 percent month-on-month after a 0.8 percent drop in May.
Core inflation metrics also remained high despite a marginal easing. Urban non-food, non-energy inflation settled at 8.7 percent year-on-year in June, down slightly from 9.0 percent in May. Rural core inflation eased to 7.9 percent from 8.4 percent. The trimmed mean core inflation, which excludes extreme price fluctuations, was reported at 9.6 percent in urban areas and 9.3 percent in rural areas, both marginally below the previous month but substantially above June 2025 levels.
The inflation data suggests that although monthly price pressures experienced some relief towards the close of FY26, inflationary tendencies remained significantly elevated overall. This contributed to a substantially higher average inflation rate for the fiscal year compared to FY25, underscoring ongoing economic challenges in managing the cost of living.