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Inflation climbs to 6.2% as core prices rise, signalling renewed pressure on economy | The Express Tribune
Non-food, non-energy inflation accelerates; border closure sends tomato prices up 127% and sugar 35%, while gas jumps
ISLAMABAD:
Inflation rose for the second consecutive month to 6.2% last month due to movement in prices across various groups, with a notable increase in non-food and non-energy goods’ rates, indicating a buildup of underlying inflationary pressure.
The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) reported on Monday that the key inflation benchmark increased by 6.2% on a year-on-year basis in October. The surge was in line with the government and market expectations. The government has attributed the increase to supply shocks caused by floods and the Pak-Afghan border closure. It was the second consecutive month when the price level increased in the country compared to a year ago. In urban areas, inflation increased by 6% on a year-on-year basis, while there was a surge of 6.6% in rural areas and towns. Inflation is again becoming a headline concern after prices started increasing for the past couple of months.
However, core inflation, which is calculated after excluding food and energy items to observe underlying pressures, also jumped. The core indicator suggests whether the rise is temporary or reflects longer trends.
The PBS reported that, measured by non-food and non-energy items, core inflation increased by 7.5% in urban areas compared to 7% of the previous month. Likewise, core inflation in rural areas also increased to 8.4% compared to 7.8% in the previous month. This suggests that the current trend may continue for a few months. Last month, the World Bank upwardly adjusted its inflation forecast for Pakistan to 7.2% for this fiscal year, which is slightly above the target.
The central bank had earlier said that inflation would temporarily increase this year because of floods and would start slowing during the later part of the second half of the fiscal year. The central bank had kept the interest rate unchanged at 11%, which is far higher than the headline inflation rate.
While addressing a press conference, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb said that interest rates were falling in the right direction but again hoped for a further cut in the rate.
Last month, the business community complained to the prime minister about high interest rates despite there being significant scope for reduction.
The government has kept Rs8.2 trillion for interest expense in the budget, but Secretary Finance, Imdad Ullah Bosal, said that actual spending would remain below the allocation due to better debt management.
The central bank is maintaining interest rates far above prevailing inflation levels, even as it projects that the economic growth target of 4.2% will again be missed this fiscal year.
The data showed that food price inflation accelerated to 4.5% in cities and 6.8% in rural areas, due to an increase in perishable and non-perishable food items.
According to the details, among non-perishable foods, which make up nearly 30% of the inflation basket, prices rose by 6.2% on average last month compared to a year earlier. In contrast, perishable goods recorded a 1.7% increase.
Due to border closures with Afghanistan, tomato prices increased 127%, followed by a 35% increase in sugar prices. The government has failed to deliver on its promise of ensuring the provision of sugar at less than Rs165 per kilogram. Wheat rates also surged by one-fourth, followed by a 16% increase in the rates of wheat flour. However, onion rates decreased by one-third, followed by a 29% reduction in chicken prices. There was also an administrative increase of 23% in the rates of gas last month compared to a year ago. But electricity charges were 16% lower than a year ago.
The Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Leghari, said on Monday that electricity prices were Rs10.3 per unit lower than a year ago due to renegotiations of energy agreements and reducing losses and inefficiencies.
Business
Sensex Gains 2,072 Points, Nifty Above 25,700; US-India Trade Deal Among Key Factors Behind Rally
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Indian benchmark indices staged a powerful rally, with the Nifty and Sensex surging up to 4.7% and 4.4% respectively; Know key reasons
Nifty50
Indian benchmark indices staged a powerful rally, with the Nifty and Sensex surging up to 4.7% and 4.4%, respectively, marking one of their strongest single-day advances. The sharp upswing followed the announcement of a long-awaited India–US trade agreement, which helped ease tariff-related worries that had weighed on domestic equities for months.
The benchmark BSE Sensex ended 2072.67 points higher or 2.54% to end at 83,739.13. The Nifty 50 climbed 639.15 points, or 2.55%, to end at 25,727.55 during the session.
Earlier in the day, the BSE Sensex jumped 5.1% during the session to hit an intraday peak of 85,871.73. Meanwhile, the Nifty 50 advanced by 1,252 points, or 5%, climbing to 26,341.2 as buying intensified across the board.
The sharp move also led to a massive rise in investor wealth. The combined market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies increased to Rs 467.35 lakh crore from ₹455 lakh crore in the previous session, translating into a gain of more than Rs 12.5 lakh crore in a single day as participation broadened across sectors.
Highlighting the reasons that are fueling the Indian stock market today, Santosh Meena, Head of Research at Swastika Investmart, said, “The Indian stock market today is in a bull trend due to the announcement of the India-US trade deal. The much-awaited trade deal has the potential to significantly improve sentiment across markets and among FIIs. After a strong gap-up opening during the Opening Bell, the possibility of the Nifty 50 index hitting fresh all-time highs in the near term cannot be ruled out. The Indian rupee is also expected to strengthen meaningfully.”
On segments that may benefit in upcoming sessions after the India-US trade deal, Santosh Meena of Swastika Investmart, said, “Export-oriented sectors are likely to be the key beneficiaries—textiles and apparel, gems & jewellery, leather, marine/seafood (shrimp), auto ancillaries, engineering goods, speciality chemicals, and select electronics and consumer goods. Pharma and IT/services may also witness an indirect sentiment boost.”
What’s driving the rally
India–US trade deal
After prolonged negotiations, India and the US sealed a trade agreement under which Washington cut reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%. In return, India will reduce tariffs and non-tariff barriers on American products. The breakthrough removes a major uncertainty that had kept foreign investors cautious and contributed to Indian equities’ underperformance. Through January, the Nifty had slumped over 1,000 points at its worst, even as foreign portfolio investors sold heavily.
Rupee strength adds comfort
A stronger rupee also supported sentiment, easing some pressure from global volatility. The currency opened at 90.40 against the dollar versus its previous close. Analysts believe the combined effect of the India–US deal, progress on the EU trade front and a growth-focused Budget could lift sentiment and revive risk appetite across markets.
FII short covering
Short covering by foreign institutional investors amplified the rebound. With bearish positions estimated to be close to 90%, traders rushed to unwind shorts as indices rebounded from oversold levels and the Nifty reclaimed the 26,000 mark. Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, said a sustained move above 25,000 opens the door to 25,800 and possibly 26,200, though failure to hold above 25,800 could trigger consolidation toward the 25,430–25,340 zone.
Heavyweights power gains
Large-cap stocks led from the front. Reliance Industries climbed nearly 4%, while Adani Ports surged about 8%, giving strong momentum to the benchmarks. HDFC Bank, L&T, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Infosys and Eternal gained up to 5%. Optimism around the Union Budget 2026’s capital expenditure push further strengthened expectations of better order flows.
Buzz for strong quarterly numbers
On how the India-US trade deal may benefit the Indian stock market in the medium to long term, Seema Srivastava, Senior Research Analyst at SMC Global Securities, said, “The India-US deal is expected to benefit export-oriented companies, especially the auto, IT, textile, pharma, gems and jewellery. So, companies from these segments are expected to report strong quarterly numbers in the upcoming quarters.” She said that the market would try to discount that buzz much before the companies start reporting such robust quarterly numbers.
Supportive global cues
Global markets also offered tailwinds. The Dow Jones rose roughly 515 points (1.05%), the S&P 500 gained 0.5%, and the Nasdaq advanced about 0.6%. Asian equities rallied, with Japan’s Nikkei jumping around 3% and South Korea’s Kospi soaring over 5%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and China’s CSI 300 posted modest gains, while Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.3% after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.85%, its first hike since November 2023.
Stocks to buy after India-US trade deal
On stocks to buy in the wake of the India-US trade deal and the reduction of Trump’s tariffs on India, Anuj Gupta, a SEBI-registered market expert, recommended 21 stocks to buy today from the auto, IT, pharma, textile, and defence sectors.
Pharma: Aurobindo Pharma, Cipla, and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
Defence: BEL, HAL, and Cochin Shipyard.
IT: TechM, HCL Tech, Wipro, and Infosys.
Textile: Trident and Welspun Living.
Auto and Auto Ancillary: Eicher Motors, Tata Motors, TVS Motor, Bajaj Auto, JBM Auto, Bosch, Amara Raja, and Exide Industries.
February 03, 2026, 11:30 IST
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Mumbai: Hyundai Motor India Limited on Monday reported a solid performance in the third quarter (Q3) of FY26, with its consolidated net profit rising 6.3 per cent year-on-year to Rs 1,234.4 crore. The growth was supported by steady demand in the domestic market, strong export numbers and higher sales during the festive season, the company said in its stock exchange filing.
Revenue from operations during the quarter increased 8 percent compared to last year to Rs 17,973.5 crore. Operating performance also improved, with EBITDA rising 7.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,018.3 crore. The EBITDA margin stood at 11.2 percent, remaining broadly stable compared to the same period last financial year.
The company said domestic demand during the quarter benefited from GST 2.0-related advantages and festive-season momentum.
Wholesale volumes rose 5 per cent sequentially, supported by strong retail sales across key models.
Exports played an important role in overall growth, with export volumes jumping 21 per cent year-on-year in the December quarter.
Exports contributed around 25 per cent to Hyundai Motor India’s total sales during the period.
On the product front, the Creta once again emerged as a key growth driver. The SUV reclaimed its position as India’s best-selling SUV and achieved its highest-ever annual sales of more than 2 lakh units in calendar year 2025.
The newly launched Venue also saw healthy demand, with nearly 80,000 bookings so far. The company said first-time buyers accounted for 48 per cent of the total bookings for the model.
For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, Hyundai Motor India reported EBITDA of Rs 6,632.5 crore, marking a year-on-year growth of 3.3 per cent.
EBITDA margins expanded to 12.8 per cent despite higher costs related to capacity stabilisation and commodity prices. Net profit for the nine-month period rose to Rs 4,175.9 crore.
Commenting on the results, Managing Director and CEO Tarun Garg said the company delivered healthy growth in volumes, revenue and profitability during the quarter.
He added that an improved sales mix and disciplined cost management helped support margins on a year-to-date basis.
Garg also highlighted strong sales in January 2026 as a positive sign for the rest of the financial year.
Indian industry has welcomed lower tariffs, but experts caution against celebration until details are clearer.
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Sensex Gains 2,072 Points, Nifty Above 25,700; US-India Trade Deal Among Key Factors Behind Rally
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