Inflation falls further to 6.20 pc

Inflation falls further to 6.20 pc
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

JULY 9: Annual rate of inflation fell for the second consecutive week to 6.20 per cent for the week ended June 24, as prices of primary food articles especially fruits and vegetables, started easing with the arrival of monsoon in most parts of the country.

During the week, the rate of inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI), declined by 0.8 percentage points to 6.20 per cent (provisional) from 6.28 per cent (P) in the week before. The rate of inflation was at 2.21 per cent in the corresponding week of last year.

Prices of fruits fell by seven per cent during the week, while that of vegetables declined by 3 per cent.

The index for "all commodities" (1993-94=100) remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 152.4. According to the latest official WPI data, inflation rate based on the final index for the week ended April 29 stood at 6.01 per cent compared to 5.94 per cent on provisional index.

The final "all commodities" index for the week stood at 151.6 compared to provisionally estimated 151.5. The inflation rate, which shot up from about three per cent in February, has risen 6.5 per cent and thereabouts now, mainly on account of hike in administered prices of petroleum products and power during the last few months.

In the last one year index for the group fuel, power, light and lubricants, which account for most of the items under administered prices, rose by a substantial 26.79 per cent, while indices of manufactured products and primary articles grew by 1.76 per cent and 4.39 per cent respectively.

During the week under reference, indices of the three groups moved in different directions. While index of primary articles fell by 0.4 per cent, index of manufactured products rose by 0.2 per cent and that of fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged.

Compared to WPI, annual inflation based on consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) stood at 5.51 per cent in May this year, down from 5.54 in April.

Commodities which witnessed substantial fluctuations during the week were fruits and vegetables (down 5 per cent), urad (up 6 per cent), groundnut seed (up 5 per cent), soyabean (up 4 per cent), fodder (down 15 per cent), rice bran oil (up 14 per cent), solvent extracted groundnut oil (up 5 per cent), soyabean oil (down 20 per cent) and textile machinery parts (up 8 per cent).

Index for primary articles declined by 0.4 per cent to 163.9 from 164.5 in the previous week on account of fall in index of food articles.