FX.co ★ Pakistan Inflation Eases to 3.2% in June

In June, Pakistan’s annual inflation rate moderated to 3.2%, down from 3.5% in May, aligning with the Finance Ministry's forecast of 3% to 4%. The slowdown was mainly attributed to reduced price hikes in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which decreased to 2.6% from 3.1%, clothing and footwear, which fell to 9.0% from 9.7%, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco, which declined to 5.1% from 7.9%. Additionally, there was a more pronounced price drop in housing and utilities, down to -3.3% from -2.5%, and a shift to deflation in recreation and culture, at -1.0% from 1.3%. Conversely, inflation rose in the restaurants and hotels category to 8.4% from 7.4% and saw a recovery in the transport sector to 0.6% from a previous decline of -2.5%. On a month-to-month basis, consumer prices experienced a 0.2% increase in June, reversing the prior month's 0.2% decrease.