Pakistan’s inflation rose faster than expected last month, keeping policymakers on guard as the Middle East conflict threatens to add to cost pressures. The consumer price index rose 11.15% in August from a year earlier, according to data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. This figure compares with a 10.9% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Inflation had previously eased to 9.2% in July, but the latest reading keeps the central bank wary amid ongoing economic uncertainty.