Pakistan(National Times)- KARACHI: Consumer price index (CPI) inflation eased significantly to 2.4% year-on-year in January 2025, down from 4.1% in December and a staggering 28.3% recorded in January 2024, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) on Monday. This marks the lowest inflation rate in over two years, reflecting easing price pressures across both urban and rural areas. In FY23, it reached over 29%; inflation touched an all-time high of 37.97% in May 2023. However, it has been on a downward trajectory since then. On a month-on-month basis, CPI inflation edged up slightly by 0.2% in January, compared to a 0.1% increase in the previous month and a 1.8% rise in January 2024. According to brokerage firm Topline Securities, inflation during 7MFY25 has averaged at 6.5% compared to 28.73% in 7MFY24. It further adds that this is the “lowest reading in 111 months (over nine years).Rural inflation followed a similar trend, falling to 1.9% year-on-year in January, down from 3.6% in December and 25.7% in January 2024. Month-on-month, rural inflation rose by 0.2%, slightly lower than the 0.3% increase recorded in the previous month. The Sensitive Price Index (SPI), which tracks the prices of essential commodities, dropped sharply to 0.7% year-on-year in January, compared to 4.2% in December and 36.2% in January 2024. On a monthly basis, SPI inflation fell by 1.4%, reversing a 0.8% increase the previous month. Meanwhile, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation slowed to 0.6% year-on-year in January, down from 1.9% in December and 27.0% in the same month last year. On a monthly basis, WPI inflation inched up by 0.2%, following a 0.4% decline in December 2024. Core inflation, measured by excluding food and energy prices, also showed a downward trend. In urban areas, core inflation fell to 7.8% year-on-year in January from 8.1% in December and 17.8% in January 2024. Month-on-month, it rose by 0.8%, compared to a 0.2% increase in December. In rural areas, core inflation decreased to 10.4% year-on-year, down from 10.7% in the previous month and 24.6% a year earlier. On a monthly basis, it increased by 0.9%, slightly higher than the 0.6% rise recorded in December. The 20% weighted trimmed mean core inflation — a measure that excludes extreme price changes — dropped to 5.4% year-on-year in both urban and rural areas. This is down from 6.2% (urban) and 6.5% (rural) in December, and significantly lower than the 22.1% and 25.8% recorded in January 2024. On a month-on-month basis, trimmed mean core inflation rose by 0.6% in urban areas and 0.7% in rural areas, compared to 0.1% and 0.6% increases, respectively, in December.