Pakistan annual inflation stands at 10.87pc in May

When compared with an annual consumer price index surge of 11.1% in the previous month.

According to the Agency, the inflation rate was recorded at 10.87 per cent compared to last year.

The data came days ahead of the country’s annual budget.

According to the Pakistan Statistics Bureau (PBD), inflation stood at 8.83 per cent in the first 11 months of the current financial year while in the last 9 months, the inflation rate in cities was 8% and 10.06% in rural areas.

During this period, the prices of 13 food items increased while the prices of 5 items decreased.

Prices of essential commodities, including chicken, eggs, meat, vegetables, pulses, sugar, and rice, have been on the rise, hitting hard a population already under pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) last week said that it expects the country's economy to shed the coronavirus shock this year and grow by 3.49% annually.