Pakistan’s headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has surged to 10.9% year-on-year (YoY) in April 2026, up sharply from 7.3% in March 2026.
According to the statistics released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Friday, this compares to just 0.3% recorded in April 2025.
On a month-on-month (MoM) basis, inflation rose by 2.5% in April 2026, accelerating from 1.2% in March and reversing a 0.8% decline seen in the same month last year.
Cumulatively, on a 10MFY26 basis, the average CPI stands at 6.19% compared to 4.87% in the same period last year.
Urban CPI inflation climbed to 11.1% year-on-year in April, up from 7.4% in March and well above the 0.5% recorded in April 2025. On a monthly basis, urban prices rose 2.7%, building on a 1.3% increase in March and contrasting with a 0.7% decline in the same month last year.
Rural inflation also accelerated sharply, rising to 10.6% YoY from 7.2% in March and swinging from a 0.1% contraction recorded in April 2025. Monthly rural prices increased 2.1%, up from a 1.0% rise in March and reversing a 1.0% decline seen a year earlier.
The Sensitive Price Index rose 10.1% YoY in April, nearly doubling from 5.6% in March and sharply higher than a 3.6% contraction recorded in April 2025. On a monthly basis, the SPI rose 2.0%, compared to a 0.7% gain in March and a 2.1% decline a year earlier.
Wholesale price pressures firmed up considerably. The Wholesale Price Index surged 13.6% YoY in April, versus 6.7% in March and a 2.2% contraction in April 2025. On a monthly basis, WPI rose 5.1%, easing slightly from 5.9% in March but reversing a 1.3% decline seen in the prior year.
Core inflation signals showed a renewed pickup. Urban non-food non-energy (NFNE) inflation edged up to 8.0% YoY from 7.4% in March, also higher than the 7.4% seen a year ago. Monthly urban NFNE rose 1.9%, accelerating from 0.7% in March and above the 1.3% recorded in April 2025.
Rural NFNE held firm at 8.5% YoY, marginally above 8.4% in March, though easing from 9.0% in April 2025. On a monthly basis, rural core prices rose 1.1%, up from 0.8% the prior month and 0.9% a year ago.
The 20% weighted trimmed mean reflected a broad-based intensification of underlying pressures. Urban trimmed mean inflation jumped to 9.2% YoY from 5.9% in March and 3.8% in April 2025, with monthly growth of 1.1%. The rural trimmed mean rose to 8.9% YoY from 6.3% in March and 3.3% a year earlier, with a monthly increase of 1.0%.
