‘Karachi costliest, Lahore cheapest Pakistan city’

KARACHI: Dispelling the impression that Islamabad is Pakistan’s costliest city, Karachi has emerged as the most expensive metropolis in the country while Lahore is the least expensive.

According to State Bank’s Inflation Monitor, June 2016, inflation in Karachi — once known as a poor man’s city — has been at its highest level during the year, leaving the capital city of Islamabad way behind.

According to the Inflation Monitor, the Consumer Price Index in June 2016 (year-onyear basis) in Karachi was 4.7%, pretty much the same as 4.6pc in June 2015. This constant inflationary pressure in Karachi was unlike the other cities including Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta and Peshawar. Compared to 4.7pc inflation in Karachi, Lahore witnessed 0.8pc inflation in June 2016. The CPI for Lahore in June 2015 was 3.2pc, highlighting a massive decline in the current year.

In June 2016, Islamabad’s inflation was 2.5pc, almost half of the 4.6pc in June 2015.

The State Bank provided no reason as to why Karachi has the highest inflation. The city has the highest crime rate with an average of 172 crimes per day in July 2016.

“The CPI Inflation on yearon-year basis in federal and provincial capitals of Pakistan remained lower than overall inflation during June 2016 except Karachi,” said the Inflation Monitor.

The overall inflation during June 2016 was 3.2pc, same as in June 2015 — excluding Karachi which remained above the overall inflation for a year.

“Among these five cities (Peshawar, Quetta included), the lowest inflation was observed in Lahore at 0.8pc while the highest inflation was observed in Karachi at 4.7pc,” said the SBP report.