Islamabad: Inflation in Pakistan entered the double-digit mark in July, the biggest surge in nearly six years.
Inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 10.34 per cent in July from 8.9 per cent the previous month, Dawn reported quoting the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
In July last year, inflation stood at 5.84 per cent.
The hike in prices of petroleum products over the past few months, followed by an increase in electricity and gas tariffs fuelled the total inflation.
The government has projected an inflation target of 11 per cent to 13 per cent for fiscal 2019-20 compared to 2018-19.
The prices of petrol and diesel were on Wednesday increased by Pakistan Rs 5.15 per litre and Rs 5.65 per litre respectively. While petrol will cost Rs 117.83 a litre, a litre of diesel will be Rs 132.4, Geo News reported.
Apart from the hike in petrol and diesel prices, kerosene oil and light diesel have now become costlier by Rs 5.38 and Rs 8.90. The new prices for kerosene and light diesel are Rs 132.47 and Rs 103.84 respectively.
The government has also ordered a rollback of the prices of ‘naan’ and ‘roti’. Currently, the rates of naan are ranging between Rs 12 to Rs 15 in different cities, while roti is available at Rs 10 to Rs 12 a piece.
The new rates are expected to be substantially lower than the current ones.
As Pakistan continues to battle a ballooning balance-of-payment crisis, several countries including China and Qatar, have provided bailout packages to the country.
The International Monetary Fund approved a bailout package of USD 6 billion for Pakistan in May. Earlier this month, Islamabad received USD 991.4 million, the first tranche of the loan from the global moneylender.