Pakistan Wholesale Inflation Accelerates in March

Wholesale price inflation in Pakistan eased to 12.71% year-on-year in May 2026 from 13.57% in the previous month. Prices slowed in agriculture, forestry, and fishery (0.96% vs 2.77% in April), ores, minerals, and utilities (8.48% vs 8.62%), and other transportable goods (36.08% vs 39.95%). Meanwhile, costs rose in food, beverages, tobacco, textiles, and leather products (6.87% vs 5.41%), particularly leather products (16.11% vs 0.26%). Inflation in metal products, machinery, and equipment also picked up (5.22% vs 3.90%). On a monthly basis, wholesale prices declined to 0.75% in May from 5.07% in the preceding period.

Pakistan's wholesale price inflation accelerated to 13.6% in April 2026, up from 6.7% in March 2026 and marking the highest level since April 2024. Price increases were broad-based, as prices of most transportable goods nearly doubled, jumping 40% from 21.4% in the previous month. Additional upward pressures were due to ores, minerals and utilities (8.6% versus 4.2%) and food, beverages, tobacco, textiles and leather products (5.4% versus 4.3%). On a monthly basis, wholesale prices increased 1.5%, up from 0.8% in March.

Pakistan's wholesale price inflation accelerated to 6.7% in March 2026, the highest level since July 2024, up from a downwardly revised 1.0% in February. Upward price pressures were mainly from transportable goods increasing 21.4%, up from a 2.3% decline in the previous month. Additionally, prices rose for ores/minerals and electricity, gas & water (4.2% versus 0.7%) and metal product, machinery and equipment (2.5% versus 1.5%). In contrast, price increases slowed for food, beverages, tobacco, textiles and leather products (4.3% versus 5.8%). Meanwhile, price decreases accelerated for agriculture forestry and fishery (-2.5% versus -1.2%). On a monthly basis, wholesale prices increased 5.9%, up from 0.7% in February.