NEW DELHI, Aug 17: After plunging for four straight weeks, the annual rate of inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) went up marginally to stand at 4.05 per cent during the week ended August 2.

The inflation, which fell by 1.89 percentage points since June 28, rose by 0.03 percentage points during the reference week from 4.02 per cent to 4.05 per cent.

Compared with this, annual inflation was 5.98 per cent in the corresponding week last year.

Meanwhile, the official WPI for `all commodities' (base 1981-82=100) rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to 326.3 (provisional) during the week as against 325.9 (provisional) the week before.

The annual rate of inflation based on the final index for the week ended June 7, 1997 (the latest available) stood at 5.6 per cent as against 5.8 per cent for the week based on provisional index. On a comparable basis, the rate of price rise based on consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) was 6.61 per cent in June as against 5.85 per cent based on WPI.

In the reference week among the various major groups, index for `primary articles' declined by 0.1 per cent, while index for `manufactured products' rose by 0.3 per cent compared to the previous week.

However, the index for `fuel, power, light and lubricants,' which come under administered price mechanism (APM), remained unchanged during the week. The index for this group has remained unchanged since May 17. Among the commodities whose prices went up substantially during the week were fodder and gur (up 7 per cent each), bajra and condiments and spices (up 5 per cent each), filament yarn synthetic and hessian and sacking bags (up 4 per cent each).However prices of raw wool (down 19 per cent), sunflower (down 14 per cent), air conditioners (down 9 per cent), sulphuric acid (down 6 per cent), eggs, fish and tea (down 4 per cent) went down significantly during the reference week.

The index for primary articles declined by 0.1 per cent in the reference week to 337.5 from 337.8 for the previous week. Under the group, the `food articles' index declined by 0.4 per cent to 386.9 from 388.3 due to easing of prices of eggs, fish and tea (-4 per cent each), ragi, urad and fruits and vegetables (-3 per cent each) and masur (-1 per cent). However, prices of bajra and condiments and spices (5 per cent each), maize (2 per cent), rice and barley (1 per cent each) firmed up during the period under review.

The index for `non-food articles' went up by 0.4 per cent to 338.2 from 336.8 due to higher prices of fodder (7 per cent), raw jute (2 per cent) and rape and mustard seed, cotton seed and gingelly seed (1 per cent each).Prices of raw wool (-19 per cent), sunflower (-14 per cent), raw silk (-3 per cent) and copra (-1 per cent) moved down during the week. The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged at its previous week's level of 349.2 while the index for manufactured products rose by 0.3 per cent to 315.7.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.