Pakistan’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 7 percent on a year-on-year basis in February 2026, up from 5.8 percent in January and 1.5 percent in February 2025, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

According to Arif Habib Limited, this is the highest inflation since October 2024.

On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 0.3 percent in February 2026, compared to a 0.2 percent rise in the previous month. In February last year, prices had declined by 0.7 percent on a monthly basis.

In rural areas, CPI inflation stood at 7.3 percent year-on-year in February 2026, higher than 5.8 percent in January and 1.1 percent in February 2025. On a monthly basis, rural inflation rose 0.3 percent, compared to a 0.6 percent increase in the previous month and a 1.1 percent decline in the same month last year.

The Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), which tracks short-term price movements of essential items, recorded a 4.8 percent year-on-year increase in February 2026, compared to 3.3 percent in January. In February 2025, SPI had posted a 0.2 percent decline. On a month-on-month basis, SPI edged down 0.1 percent, following a 0.8 percent drop in January and a 1.6 percent decrease in February last year.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rose 1.0 percent year-on-year in February 2026, compared to 0.2 percent in the previous month, while it had declined by 0.7 percent in February 2025. On a monthly basis, WPI increased by 0.7 percent, reversing the 0.2 percent decline recorded in January and matching the 0.2 percent fall seen in February last year.

Core inflation, measured by the Non-Food Non-Energy (NFNE) index for urban areas, was recorded at 7.1 percent year-on-year in February 2026, slightly lower than 7.2 percent in the previous month and 7.8 percent in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, urban core inflation rose by 0.2 percent, compared to a 1.0 percent increase in January and 0.3 percent in the same month last year.

In rural areas, NFNE-based core inflation remained unchanged at 8.3 percent year-on-year in February 2026, compared to the previous month, and significantly lower than 10.4 percent in February 2025. On a monthly basis, it increased by 0.4 percent, compared to a 1.1 percent rise in January and 0.4 percent in February last year.

Meanwhile, trimmed core inflation, measured by the 20 percent weighted trimmed mean, rose to 5.1 percent year-on-year in urban areas in February 2026, up from 4.9 percent in January and 4.6 percent in February 2025. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 0.2 percent, compared to a 0.5 percent rise in the previous month and 0.1 percent in February last year.

For rural areas, trimmed core inflation stood at 5.6 percent year-on-year in February 2026, compared to 5.4 percent in January and 5.2 percent in February 2025. On a monthly basis, it increased by 0.3 percent, compared to 0.7 percent in the previous month and 0.1 percent in February 2025.