Pakistan Inflation Rate: CPI, Core Inflation and SPI
How fast prices are rising in Pakistan: headline CPI inflation, core inflation without food and energy, and the SPI on essential items, with inflation by CPI group. Inflation sets the State Bank's policy rate and, with it, what investors expect from shares.
Latest data: Sep 2026
Real policy rate +1.20 pp: the policy rate in force in Sep 2026 (11.50%) less CPI inflation that month (10.30%).
Inflation and the policy rate
Year on year, monthly. Tap a name to show or hide it.
Inflation by CPI group, Sep 2026
From the national CPI index (2015-16 = 100); weight is each group's share of the basket
| Group | Weight | Month | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food & non-alcoholic beverages | 34.6% | +0.2% | +8.2% |
| Housing, water, electricity & gas | 23.6% | +3.0% | +12.4% |
| Clothing & footwear | 8.6% | +0.2% | +9.0% |
| Restaurants & hotels | 6.9% | +0.7% | +6.1% |
| Transport | 5.9% | +5.7% | +27.4% |
| Miscellaneous goods & services | 4.9% | +0.5% | +10.9% |
| Furnishings & household equipment | 4.1% | +0.4% | +7.2% |
| Education | 3.8% | +0.2% | +7.8% |
| Health | 2.8% | +0.7% | +7.9% |
| Communication | 2.2% | 0.0% | +13.5% |
| Recreation & culture | 1.6% | −0.2% | +0.6% |
| Alcoholic beverages & tobacco | 1.0% | −0.1% | +3.0% |
Inflation, last 12 months
Percent; core inflation excludes food and energy (NFNE)
| Month | CPI YoY | CPI MoM | Core, urban | Core, rural | SPI YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 10.3 | 1.3 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 8.4 |
| Aug 2026 | 11.2 | 1.2 | 8.8 | 8.5 | 9.5 |
| Jul 2026 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 8.6 | 8.1 | 12.0 |
| Jun 2026 | 11.1 | -0.3 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 12.8 |
| May 2026 | 11.7 | 0.5 | 9.0 | 8.4 | 12.0 |
| Apr 2026 | 10.9 | 2.5 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 10.1 |
| Mar 2026 | 7.3 | 1.2 | 7.4 | 8.4 | 5.6 |
| Feb 2026 | 7.0 | 0.3 | 7.1 | 8.3 | 4.8 |
| Jan 2026 | 5.8 | 0.4 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 3.3 |
| Dec 2025 | 5.6 | -0.4 | 6.9 | 8.1 | 2.5 |
| Nov 2025 | 6.1 | 0.4 | 6.6 | 8.2 | 4.2 |
| Oct 2025 | 6.2 | 1.7 | 7.5 | 8.4 | 4.8 |
Reading inflation
- CPI inflation
- The Consumer Price Index follows the prices of what households buy. Headline inflation is its change from the same month a year earlier.
- Core inflation
- Inflation without food and energy, whose prices swing the most (NFNE: non-food, non-energy). It shows the underlying trend, for cities and villages separately.
- SPI
- The Sensitive Price Indicator tracks essential items every week, so it moves before the monthly CPI does.
Questions about inflation in Pakistan
What is the real interest rate?
The policy rate less inflation. When it is positive, savers earn more than prices rise; the State Bank watches it when it sets the rate.
How is CPI inflation measured?
By pricing a fixed basket of goods and services every month. Each group, such as food or housing, counts by its weight in the basket.
Why does inflation matter for the stock market?
The State Bank sets the policy rate against it: falling inflation leaves room for rate cuts, which make shares look better value against deposits and bonds, and rising inflation the opposite. It also eats into real returns.
Source: Pakistan Bureau of Statistics; policy rate from the State Bank of Pakistan. Each figure shows the period it is for: the series are published on their own schedules, so some are more recent than others.