Pakistan's weekly inflation rate spiked to the highest level in six months in the week ended on December 7, media reports said.

The hike is driven by surging food and fuel prices, as per data released by the government on Friday.

The inflation rate, as measured by the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI), increased by 1.16 percentage points to 42.68 percent from the previous week, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) as quoted by The News International.

This is the highest inflation rate witnessed by the country since the week ending June 1.

In the previous week, which ended on November 30, the SPI was recorded at 41.05 percent, the Pakistani newspaper reported.

. The persistent double-digit inflation, ongoing since February 2021, is attributed to the impact of a depreciating rupee, elevated commodity prices, and increased energy tariffs.