ISLAMABAD: Short-term inflation, measured by the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), increased four per cent year-on-year in the week ending Dec 4, owing to an increase in the retail price of edible oil and wheat flour in the domestic market.

The SPI-based inflation has been on an upward trend for the past 18 consecutive weeks. A surge in the prices of perishable products, LPG cylinders, and electricity mainly drives the increase.

It, however, declined by 0.64pc from the previous week due to a slight dec­line in prices of tomatoes, potatoes and onions, official data showed on Friday.

The prices of tomatoes, onions, and potatoes rose sharply due to supply disruptions caused by the closure of the border with Afghanistan. The extraordinary spike in the retail prices of sugar and meat also contributed to fuel the short-term inflation.

The weekly inflation hit a record 48.35pc year-on-year in early May 2023, but then decelerated to 24.4pc in late August 2023 before surging past 40pc during the week ending Nov 16, 2023.

The items whose prices increased the most over the previous week included LPG (3.50pc), garlic (1.86pc), cooking oil 5 litre (1.54pc), eggs (0.81pc), bread (0.57pc), vegetable ghee 1 kg (0.40pc), powdered milk (0.36pc), bananas and wheat flour (0.28pc) each and cigarettes (0.25pc).

The items whose prices saw a decline week-on-week included tomatoes (30.11pc), onions (12.41pc), potatoes (6.92pc), chicken (4.46pc), sugar (3.31pc), diesel (1.67pc), pulse gram (1.55pc), pulse masoor (1.33pc), gur (1pc) and petrol (0.73pc).

However, on an annual basis, the items whose prices increased the most included sugar (37.49pc), gas charges for Q1 (29.85pc), wheat flour (17.50pc), gur (15.06pc), beef (13.47pc), firewood (12.59pc), bananas (11.06pc), powdered milk (9.03pc), diesel (8.42pc), lawn printed (8.29pc), cooking oil 5 litre (8.19pc) and vegetable ghee 2.5 kg (7.59pc).

In contrast, the prices of potatoes dropped 40.47pc, followed by garlic (38.51pc), tomatoes (31.51pc), onions (29.87pc), pulse gram (29.54pc), tea Lipton (17.79pc), pulse mash (13.82pc), electricity charges for Q1 (8.40pc) and salt powder (5.13pc).

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2025

KARACHI: Buying at dips allowed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to extend overnight recovery momentum in the weekend session, pushing the benchmark KSE 100 index to near 168,000 intraday as positive developments on the economic front kept investors in an enthusiastic mood.

Ali Najb, the Deputy Head of Trading at Arif Habib Ltd, stated that the market is currently in a consolidation phase, bolstered by significant developments. One key factor is the rollover of a $3 billion deposit from Saudi Arabia with the State Bank of Pakistan for an additional year, which has provided essential support to the external sector. Furthermore, media reports indicate that the president has approved the summary for the appointment of the Chief of Defence Forces, which helps to alleviate uncertainty on this front.

However, the index closed at 167,085.85 points, up 802 points, or 0.48 per cent, on Friday.

On the corporate front, Service Industries announced that its subsidiary, Service Long March Tyres (SLM), would raise capital through an Initial Public Offering and pursue listing on the PSX.

Market participation improved as trading volume rose 13pc to 687 million shares, while value surged 33.24pc to Rs41.6bn. Telecard Ltd topped the volume chart with 58 million shares.

Topline Securities Ltd said recovery was observed in the market, thanks to buying by local institutions, which came in to buy at the dip.

The top positive contributors to the index were Fauji Fertiliser, Pakistan Petroleum, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Services, Lucky Cement and Systems Ltd, which cumulatively contributed 607 points. Anal­ysts believe the market is likely to attempt to set an all-time high, with the energy sector likely to lead the rally in the sessions to come. This expectation is driven by market sentiment ahead of a potential circular debt disbursement next week, which could fuel fresh buying interest in key E&P and power sector stocks.

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2025

KARACHI: Repeated closures of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border have brought bilateral medicine trade to a standstill, leaving hundreds of trucks stranded and “jeopardising” nearly $200 million worth of pharmaceutical exports, industry sources said.

Industry representatives warn that the ongoing blockade at Torkham and Chaman is crippling pharmaceutical supplies to Afg­hanistan, spoiling temperature-sensitive drugs, and exposing Pakistan to massive commercial losses at a time when exporters cannot afford another shock.

They argue that Afg­h­anistan remains Pakistan’s largest overland trading partner and the main transit route for onward access to Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Kaz­a­khstan. Each shutdown cuts Pakistan off from these landlocked economies, disrupts regional connectivity projects, and undermines multilateral investments tied to the Pakistan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan railway and other corridor initiatives.

“The closures are now so frequent that they have become a structural threat, forcing countries investing in this route to consider more predictable alternatives. For Pakistan’s pharmaceutical sector, the impact is already severe,” said Tauqeer ul Haq of the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA).

“Almost all exports to Afghanistan have stopped, and containers carrying antibiotics, insulin, vacci­nes, cardiovascular dru­gs, and other essential medicines are stuck at border crossings, dry ports, and warehouses. The delays have pushed local manufacturers toward irreversible financial losses. In one case, a single firm has products worth Rs850 million stranded at Torkham and Chaman, while more than fifty companies face similar setbacks.”

Published in Dawn, December 6th, 2025