Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.5% in May 2025, according to the latest figures released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday. This marks a notable increase from just 0.3% in April, but remains significantly lower than the 11.8% recorded in May last year.
Month-on-month, prices fell slightly by 0.2%, continuing the trend of easing cost pressures, though the pace of decline has slowed compared to April’s 0.8% drop.
During the first 11 months of the current fiscal year, average inflation stood at 4.61% — a major improvement from the 24.52% seen in the same period last year.
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Urban inflation matched the national average at 3.5% year-on-year in May, up from 0.5% in April. Rural areas saw a similar rise to 3.4%, compared to a 0.1% drop the previous month.
Meanwhile, the Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks key items for lower-income groups, fell by 0.6% annually in May. On a monthly basis, SPI declined by 1.0%, suggesting relief in essential commodities.
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Wholesale price inflation (WPI) recorded a slight annual increase of 0.4%, after several months of contraction. Monthly figures showed no significant change.
Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, showed mixed trends. Urban core inflation dipped to 7.3% from 7.4% in April, while rural core inflation eased to 8.8% from 9.0%.
Trimmed core inflation — a filtered measure of price volatility — also saw modest rises in both urban and rural areas.
