On a month-on-month basis, inflation remained elevated, jumping 2.9% as nearly 6,000 containers are stranded in ports, including thousands of tons of poultry feed ingredients that pushed chicken prices to a record earlier this year, Geo News reported.

The inflation rate — that has lingered above 20 percent since June after the coalition government curtailed imports — has been aggravating due to the logjam of containers.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI), which captures prices in the wholesale market, also rose sharply by 28.53% in January compared to 24% in the same month a year ago.

The PBS reported that the overall inflation rate recorded an increase in both the urban and rural areas. The inflation rate in urban areas surged 24.4% in January and rural areas soared 32.3% over the same month of the last year. In January last year, the inflation rate in urban areas was 13% meanwhile, in rural areas it stood at 12.9%, the news channel reported.