A record-high degree of food supply constraints, a sharp increase in the price of petroleum items, and stagnating as well as declining salaries all contributed to Pakistan's headline inflation speeding up in January.

According to data provided by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Wednesday, consumer prices increased by 27.6% in comparison to 13% in the corresponding month previous year. Since May 1975, when the median inflation rate was 27.77%, this is the greatest year-over-year inflation rate.

As nearly 6,000 containers are stuck at ports, including thousands of tonnes of components for poultry feed that drove chicken prices to a record earlier this year, inflation increased on a month-over-month basis, rising 2.9%.

Due to the backlog of containers, the inflation rate—which has hovered above 20% since June when the coalition government restricted imports—has been worsening.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which tracks wholesale market prices, had a significant increase in January of 28.53% compared to 24% in the same month last year.

According to the PBS, both urban and rural areas saw an increase in the total inflation rate. Urban areas saw an increase in inflation of 24.4% in January while rural areas saw an increase of 32.3%. In January of last year, the urban inflation rate was 13%, while the rural inflation rate was 12.9%.

On an annual basis, the food inflation rates in cities and villages soared by 45.2% and 39%, respectively. Food inflation in cities and villages was 11.8% and 13.3%, respectively, in January 2021.

In contrast to 12.8% and 13.9% respectively in the same month last year, the non-food inflation rate was recorded at 15.6% in urban regions and 20.9% in rural areas.

According to the national data gathering organisation, core inflation, which is determined by eliminating food and energy goods, increased 15.4% in urban areas and 19.4% in rural regions during the month under review.The price of the food group rose 15.17% in January compared to the same month last year. Within the food category, the cost of non-perishable food items increased 12.51% annually, while the cost of perishable goods only increased by 2.66%.

Housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel, which make up one-fourth of the basket's weight, saw an increase in inflation of 1.84% (year over year) in the previous month.

In January, the average cost of apparel and footwear climbed by 1.43%. Transportation-related costs increased by 2.53%. (year-on-year).

According to PBS, the price of chicken shot up by 24.62% on a monthly basis, followed by increases of 16.47% for wheat, 14.16% for rice, and over 10% for onions. In the previous month, there was a 2-5% increase in price for fresh milk, eggs, fruits, and pulses.

According to the PBS data, the average inflation rate for the first seven months (July–January) of the current fiscal year was 25.4%.