All previous records are broken, rising to a nearly 50-year high of 31.5%.

Alarmingly, Pakistan's inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), shattered all prior records and surged to 31.5% in February as a result of sharp increases in the costs of transportation, housing, and food. The Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) released a new inflation figure on Wednesday, which has increased the likelihood that interest rates would increase further at the upcoming monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting, which the central bank has postponed until March 2. The greatest inflation rate recorded since the beginning of data collection, in July 1965, occurred in February when it soared to 31.5% year over year. The inflation rate was somewhat higher than 29% the last time, in April 1975.

The rate of price growth exceeds the finance ministry's predictions of 28% to 30% inflation, which were made just one day before. According to Sana Tawfiq, an economist at Arif Habib Limited, the increase in the average price of food items like poultry, fruits, pulses, oil, vegetables, ghee, LPG, gas charges, and domestic petroleum products is what caused the monthly inflation rate to rise by 4.3% in February compared to January. The inflation reading indicates that the administration needs to reevaluate its plan for obtaining the crucial $1.1 loan tranche from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The people are receiving one shock after another as a result of the government's inability to recoup any lost ground from the IMF.

The core inflation rate, which is determined after subtracting the volatile energy and food costs, also skyrocketed to 17.1% in urban areas and 21.5% in rural regions last month, indicating that the rate of price growth is quickening across most categories of goods and services. According to Tawfiq, rising food costs (particularly as a result of the Ramadan factor), tariff increases, and a weaker currency would certainly cause inflation to remain high in the future.

Due to the container backlog, the weaker rupee versus the dollar, and the stringent policies put in place by the Ishaq Dar-led Ministry of Finance, the inflation rate—which has hovered above 20% since June when the coalition government restricted imports—has been escalating. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which tracks prices in the wholesale market, also increased dramatically in February, jumping from 23.6% to 36.4% from the same month last year. Housing, water, electricity, gas, and fuel group inflation increased by 3.11% (year-over-year) in the previous month, accounting for one-fourth of the basket's weight. The transport sector's average prices rose by 3.34% in February. Hotel and restaurant costs increased by 2.36%. (year-on-year).

According to PBS, the price of chicken increased by 19.82% month over month, while the price of cooking oil rose by 17.21%, the cost of vegetable ghee increased by 16.59%, and the price of cigarettes increased by about 16%. Fresh milk, fish, meat, and legumes all saw price increases in the past month that ranged from 1.5 to 11%. According to the PBS data, the average inflation rate for the first eight months of the current fiscal year (July to February) was 26.19%.