ISLAMABAD (The Thursday Times) — Pakistan’s headline inflation eased to 9.6 per cent year on year in October from 10.3 per cent in September, Pakistan Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday, though prices are still rising far faster than they were a year ago.
Prices rose 1.1 per cent from the previous month, compared with 1.3 per cent in September and 1.7 per cent in October 2025. Urban inflation was 9.5 per cent and rural inflation 9.8 per cent, both down from a month earlier but well above the 6 per cent and 6.6 per cent recorded in October last year.
Inflation averaged 10.05 per cent in the first four months of the 2026-27 financial year, against 4.79 per cent in the same period last year.
The reading fell at the low end of the 9.5 to 10.5 per cent range the finance ministry had projected for the month, and slightly above brokerage estimates of about 9 to 9.5 per cent. The ministry has said the path ahead depends on international energy prices, food supplies and base effects. Topline Securities expects inflation to average more than 9 per cent this financial year if oil stays at $100 to $110 a barrel.
