Islamabad: Consumers are facing tough times in Pakistan, a nation battered by the economic crisis, as inflation spiked to touch a record figure last month, media reports said.

As per available data,  food, beverage, and transport costs drove inflation further in the country, and analysts now believe that  “families will have to make choices and sacrifices”.

Monthly inflation, measured by a basket of products called the Consumer Price Index (CPI), jumped to 31.6 per cent in February year-on-year, the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday as quoted by Dawn News.

This was the highest annual rate since available data, i.e. July 1965, according to the research firm Arif Habib Ltd, and is also expected to rise even further in the coming months, the news paper reported.

Inflation surpassed 30pc last month after having stayed above 20pc for eight months from June to January.

The goods and services in the CPI basket are divided into 12 major components with different weights. Of them, costs in four categories — transport, food and non-alcoholic beverages, alcoholic beverages and tobacco, and recreation and culture — jumped by around half.

Prices in February rose 4.3pc compared to January, the highest rate since October’s 4.7pc.