Inflation hits 50-year high in Pakistan

Islamabad: The historic increase in electricity and gas prices has pushed inflation to a 50-year high.

The inflation rate is likely to be 26 percent this fiscal year and 15 percent in 2025 and 11.5 percent in 2026.

The World Bank says that inflation in Pakistan in the first half of the current fiscal year was the highest since 1974, with the increase in electricity and gas prices significantly increasing the cost of production.

It has been stated by the World Bank that the main reason for the increase in inflation in Pakistan is the increase in the prices of electricity and gas.

According to the World Bank, in the first half of this fiscal year, energy inflation in urban areas increased by 50 percent and energy inflation was 50.6 percent, while it was 40.6 percent in the same period last year. In the first half of this financial year, the average inflation was 28.8 percent which was 25 percent in the same period last year.

Inflation rose in Pakistan despite the stabilization of the rupee, increase in domestic crop production and reduction in price pressures in the global market.

The average inflation rate in Pakistan this fiscal year is likely to be 26 percent, which was 29.2 percent last fiscal year, but the average inflation rate in the next fiscal year 2025 is expected to be 15 percent and in the fiscal year 2026, the inflation rate is likely to further decrease to 11.5 percent.