Pakistan's May Inflation Rises to 11.7%, Accelerating for a Fifth Straight MonthA · FULL TRANSLATION
- Pakistan's May inflation reached 11.7%
- Inflation has accelerated for five consecutive months
- It reflects persistently rising price pressure
- It challenges livelihoods and economic stability
- JETRO reported the South Asian data
Pakistan's inflation accelerating for five months to 11.7% is a textbook emerging-market bind under a strong dollar and high oil: currency depreciation lifts import costs while energy and food prices surge, hitting livelihoods. For fiscally fragile states, high inflation often comes with FX and debt pressure, forming a vicious cycle.
It reminds us that global inflation's pain is unevenly distributed: advanced economies may debate rate cuts while many emerging markets still battle double-digit inflation. South Asian instability eventually reaches Asia overall via energy, food and supply chains. For Japanese and Taiwanese firms in emerging markets, such inflation and FX risks must be monitored. Is advanced-economy policy spillover widening cracks in the global economy?
According to JETRO, Pakistan's inflation rate rose to 11.7% in May, accelerating for a fifth consecutive month.
Amid currency depreciation lifting import costs and high energy and food prices, Pakistan's price pressures keep rising, posing a serious challenge to ordinary people's livelihoods and the country's economic stability.
Persistently accelerating inflation often comes with exchange-rate and debt pressures. The figure shows that some emerging-market countries are still waging a hard fight against high inflation, and further developments bear watching.