Business
Weekly SPI rises 4.34% YoY on food price volatility | The Express Tribune
KARACHI:
Pakistan’s short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), rose 4.34% year-on-year (YoY) during the week ended October 9, 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).
The annual increase reflects persistent pressure from rising food and energy prices, even as the weekly trend showed only a marginal rise of 0.17%.
PBS report revealed that price increases for chicken, wheat flour, onions and eggs were the main contributors to the latest uptick, while prices for tomatoes, bananas and potatoes registered notable declines.
The weekly SPI, which tracks prices of 51 essential commodities across 50 markets in 17 cities, showed price hikes for 21 items (41.18%), reduction in six items (11.76%) and no change in 24 items (47.06%).
The most notable increases were recorded in chicken (8.92%), onions (7.47%) and wheat flour (5.74%), three of the most widely consumed food items in Pakistani households. Other commodities showing a rise included eggs (2.25%), gur (jaggery) (1.70%), garlic (0.86%), vegetable ghee – 1kg (0.86%), vegetable ghee – 2.5kg (0.59%), firewood (0.50%) and washing soap (0.23%).
Conversely, a significant drop was noted in tomato prices, which fell 11.34%, following a sharp increase in previous weeks. Other items showing a decline included bananas (1.29%), potatoes (0.93%), LPG (0.59%), pulse gram (0.35%) and mustard oil (0.07%).
Across consumption groups, the SPI increased between 0.14% and 0.20%, indicating that inflationary pressures were felt across all income brackets. The highest weekly increase of 0.20% was recorded for the fourth quintile (upper-middle-income households), while the lowest rise of 0.14% was seen in the lowest-income group.
On a YoY basis, the SPI rose 4.34%, reflecting continued inflationary strain despite some recent stabilisation in food and fuel prices. The data highlighted steep annual increases in several essential commodities, led by tomatoes (109.82%), ladies’ sandals (55.62%), sugar (36.08%) and gas charges for the lowest slab (29.85%).
Prices of wheat flour (17.70%), pulse moong (15.90%), gur (13.79%), beef (12.66%), diesel (12.57%) and vegetable ghee (up to 11.86%) also showed notable hikes over the past year.
However, several commodities exhibited price relief compared to last year. Prices of onions dropped sharply by 43.16%, garlic fell by 28.16%, electricity charges for Q1 by 26.26%, pulse gram by 24.97% and chicken by 24.30%. Prices of potatoes (-18.51%), pulse mash (-18.17%) and tea (-17.93%) also declined.
PBS data suggests that while the pace of inflation has moderated from last year’s high levels, food price volatility remains a key concern. Upcoming seasonal shifts and changes in fuel and energy tariffs could influence price dynamics in the coming weeks.
Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Friday staged a strong comeback, breaking the long bearish momentum as snowballing forex reserves have lifted investor sentiment.
During intraday trading, the PSX’s benchmark KSE-100 index gained a whopping 3,146.23 points to climb to 184,602.56 points, marking a positive change of 1.70%.
Out of 562 active companies, share prices of 375 advanced and of 67 declined while rates of 120 companies remained unchanged.
Economic analysts said the uptick offered some breathing space for the economy, even as the country continued to keep a close watch on external inflows and outflows.
Pakistan’s foreign exchange reserves inched up by $16 million over the past week, according to figures released by the State Bank of Pakistan.
The central bank said its official reserves rose from $16.0557 billion to $16.0718 billion, showing a modest gain during the week.
Overall, the country’s total reserves climbed to $21.2484 billion.
The State Bank also noted that commercial banks’ holdings went up by $5.6 million, reaching $5.1927 billion.
The central bank projects the FY26 current account deficit at 0–1% of GDP and sees reserves at $17.8 billion by June 2026 with planned official inflows.
A day earlier, the stock exchange dropped by over 1,100 points due to massive selling pressure.
The PSX had extended losses after recording an increase for a brief period as investors seemed cautious amid rising geopolitical tensions involving Iran.
During intraday trading, the KSE-100 index touched 183,717.53 due to strong buying in the early sessions before it turned bearish by losing 69.29 points to close at 182,500.52 points.
International officials have warned that US military intervention in Iran now appears likely and could take place within the next 24 hours amid sharply escalating tensions in the Middle East.
American, European and Israeli sources said preparations for possible action were under way as Washington began evacuating personnel from its major air base in Qatar.
NEW DELHI: People with job cards assigned under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Scheme will be able to get work without disruption when transition takes place to new rural employment framework under Viksit Bharat-Guarantee for Rozgar and Aajeevika Mission (Gramin) Act.Even though exact timeframe is not known yet, rural development ministry officials said the VB-G RAM G scheme will come into force in the coming financial year after the Centre frames and notifies the rules. After govt notifies the Act’s commencement date, states will get six months to make their schemes to enable implementation of the law.To ensure there is no disruption and job guarantee is upheld during transition from MGNREGA, it has been proposed to enable workers to use the same job cards issued under MGNREGA with Aadhaar-based eKYC.The officials said that as of now, around 75% of job cards have been verified with eKYC under the ongoing scheme. Moreover, ongoing projects under MGNREGA, if incomplete when the transition happens to the new scheme, would stay on course.Meanwhile, work is on to frame rules, lay out regulations on normative allocations, fund flow plan, IT framework, a national-level steering panel and social audits.Under the new law, focus will be on transparency to weed out leakages and duplicacy of work,the social audit system will be strengthened, and technology leveraged to create systems to establish work progress, timely wage payment and accountability through ‘e-measurement’ books, sources said. Demand for work will have to be entered on a digital platform. Officials made it clear the new law in no way interferes with demand-driven character of the scheme.
Business
Gurugram Attracts Rs 86,588 Crore In Real Estate Investments In 2025 As RERA Clears 131 Projects
Last Updated:
Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to safeguard homebuyer and investor interests
Gurgaon Real Estate (Representative Image)
Gurugram emerged as one of India’s top real estate investment destinations in 2025, with projects worth Rs 86,588 crore receiving regulatory approvals during the year, according to data from the Gurugram Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Gurugram RERA).
Market observers said the numbers reflect strong investor confidence in the NCR’s largest commercial and residential hub.
Gurugram RERA registered 131 projects in calendar year 2025, representing development potential of 35,455 units across housing and commercial segments.
A striking feature of the data was the dominance of large-ticket projects. Just 28 major developments accounted for investments worth Rs 59,360 crore, highlighting the growing influence of institutional capital and large developers in shaping Gurugram’s property market.
Residential assets continued to attract the bulk of investment interest. Of the total units approved, 31,455 were residential, underscoring sustained end-user demand and long-term confidence in the city’s housing fundamentals.
According to Authority data, the residential mix included 17,405 group housing units, 5,720 mixed land use units, 4,040 residential floor units, 2,122 affordable group housing units, 1,954 units under the Deen Dayal housing scheme, and 214 residential plotted colony units.
Market observers said this diversified supply pipeline indicates capital deployment across both premium and mass segments, helping reduce concentration risk and deepen market resilience.
On the commercial side, Gurugram RERA approved about 4,000 commercial units, of which 168 were dedicated to IT parks, reinforcing Gurugram’s position as a preferred hub for technology firms and Global Capability Centres.
Analysts noted that the combination of office-led employment growth and residential expansion continues to make Gurugram attractive for long-term capital deployment.
Industry experts said the scale of investments approved in 2025 highlights Gurugram’s ability to attract capital despite global uncertainty, supported by infrastructure growth, a strong corporate base and an improving regulatory environment.
“With a large pipeline of approved projects and sustained interest from developers and institutional investors, Gurugram is expected to remain a key real estate investment destination in the coming years,” a Gurugram-based real estate expert said.
Tighter regulatory checks
Alongside rising investments, Gurugram RERA strengthened regulatory oversight to enhance transparency and safeguard homebuyer and investor interests.
“These steps included stricter scrutiny of developer submissions, mandatory site inspections by domain experts, and public consultation through mandatory notices before project registration,” an Authority official said.
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January 16, 2026, 07:44 IST
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