ISLAMABAD, Aug 10: Increasing prices of food items made a maximum inflationary impact for the lowest income group as this category spent more on purchase of food items.

Fourteen items, out of 15, which registered an increase in their prices during the week related to kitchen. The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) surged by 0.34 per cent for income group earning up to Rs8,000 per month during the week ending on Aug 9, compared to the previous week.

The SPI data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (FBS) here on Friday said that inflation for the combined group increased by 0.21 per cent during the week under review against previous week while SPI for the combined group in the week under review witnessed an increase of 7.05 per cent this week as compared to the corresponding week of last year.

The SPI showed a decline with the rise in income level during the week, and for the income group earning between Rs8,001 and Rs12,000, the weekly inflation increased by 0.29 per cent.

For the income group earning Rs12,001-Rs18,000, the SPI increased by 0.26 per cent; and for income group between Rs18,001 and Rs35,000 per month, the increase was 0.21 per cent.

For the income group earning more than Rs35,000 per month, the SPI increased by 0.14 per cent.

Analysts said that inflationary impact for middle class and upper middle class would be higher as there would be rush for Eid shopping.

The SPI data said that during the week ending on Aug 9, 2012, 15 items registered increase in their prices.

A maximum increase of 11.50 per cent was witnessed in prices of onions followed by an increase of 11.34 per cent in tomato prices during the week under review.

The other items that registered increase in their prices are LPG, potatoes, wheat, garlic, washed mash pulse, gur, wheat flour, washed masoor, red chillies powder, rice basmati broken, moong washed, shirting and beef.

Only six items registered a decrease in their prices. These are farm chicken, bananas, washed gram pulse, farm chicken eggs, vegetable ghee and sugar.