Islamabad, 2 September 2024 (TDI): Pakistan’s headline inflation has finally dropped to a single digit on a year-on-year basis after three years, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) said on Monday.
On a month-on-month basis, the inflation declined from 11.1 percent in July 2024 to 9.6 percent in August 2024.
According to the PBS data, CPI inflation was its lowest since October 2021 when it was recorded at 9.2 percent.
Read More: Inflation Forecast Dropped To 9.5% for August 2024
The read corresponds with official expectations. In its monthly economic outlook on Friday, the finance ministry had predicted that inflation would range between 9.5 and 10.5 percent.
“On the account of stability in economic indicators, inflation is expected to remain within the range of 9.5 to 10.5 percent in August and further decline to 9 to 10 percent in September 2024,” the Ministry of Finance had said in its outlook.
Read More: PM Shehbaz Expresses Satisfaction Over Reduced Inflation
The downward trend in inflation comes after the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) cut the key policy rate by 100 basis points to 19.5 percent in July this year.
Inflation has been a significant challenge for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led government, particularly in recent years. In May 2023, the inflation had soared to 38 percent. However, it has since seen a downward trajectory.
