Pakistan recorded 11.1 percent inflation in the prices of consumer items in April month, touching the double-digit inflation rate for a month year after a year, reported Dawn. 

Data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics on Saturday recorded inflation for the last month 11.1 percent, an increase of 2 percent from March,9.1pc. Rising food prices in urban and rural areas were the main driver of inflation.

Non-food inflation has steadily been on the rise for the past few months due to higher energy prices. The Consumer Price Index in 10 months — between July and April — eased from 11.22pc last year to 8.62pc this year.

The start of fasting in the middle of the last month accelerated growth in prices of vegetables, fruit, chicken, and oil especially in the province of Punjab, followed by Sindh, Balochistan, Islamabad, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported Dawn.

The State Bank of Pakistan determines the key policy rate, currently at 7pc, based on the core inflation rate. The central bank has reduced the rate by a cumulative 625 basis points since March 17 to combat uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Average inflation measured by the Sensitive Price Index surged to 21.3pc in April from 18.7pc during the previous month. On a month-on-month basis, it increased by 2.6pc in April.