Pakistan Economy: Inflation continues to march downwards – By Foundation Research
Dec 31 2024
Foundation Securities
- National CPI is projected to post an uptick of 0.3% MoM in Dec’24 on the back of increase in core (non-food, non-energy) prices. This would take YoY reading to 4.3% compared to 4.9% YoY last month.
- Inflation is projected to decline significantly in FY25 amid cooling food and core inflation. (1) Lagged impact of tight monetary policy stance of past 2 years, (2) favorable base effect, (3) anticipated improvement in global and domestic conditions, and (4) steady exchange rates are expected to contribute in achieving price stability. However, downside risks persist to energy inflation due to (1) higher electricity and gas tariffs amid IMF program conditionality given energy sector woes and (2) expansion of the conflict in the Middle East.
- Bolstered by these factors and given recent lower inflation outturns, we expect CPI to average ~7.0% YoY for FY25 (compared to 23.4% YoY in FY24). To note, inflation was 7.9% YoY during 5MFY25 compared to 28.6% during 5MFY24.