Pakistan’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) for April 2026 may clock in at 11-11.5% year-on-year against 7.3% year-on-year in March and 0.28% in April 2025, the highest monthly inflation in 21 months.
On a month-on-month basis, inflation in April 2026 has been projected at +2.65%, primarily driven by a 22.5% month-on-month increase in the transport sector due to a sharp surge in global oil prices amid the Middle East conflict and related fuel supply disruptions. Within transport, Petrol Super (MS) prices have risen by 17.9%, while High-Speed Diesel has surged by 54.7%.
The Housing, Water, Electricity, and Gas category is also expected to rise by 2.2% month-on-month in April, primarily driven by an approximately 36% month-on-month increase in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices. Electricity charges are likely to inch up by 0.03% month-on-month, reflecting a Quarterly Tariff Adjustment of Rs. 0.3504/kWh and a Fuel Charges Adjustment of Rs. 1.6406/kWh. Additionally, the scheduled quarterly rent adjustment is estimated at 1.4% month-on-month.
Food inflation is expected to clock in at 1.17% month-on-month, primarily driven by a sharp increase in prices of tomatoes (+42.88%), onions (+18.10%), chicken (+17.91%), and potatoes (+11.57%). However, there has been a decline in the prices of wheat and fresh fruit by 10-17%.