The rate of inflation, based on the wholesale price index (WPI), has fallen by 0.10 percentage points to 7.94 per cent (provisional) in the reference week from 8.04 per cent (P) in the week before. It was at 3.85 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

Inflation, which is the rate of increase in prices, has been on the slide ever since it touched a 139-week high of 8.32 per cent on July 25. The fall in inflation is mainly on account of an arrest in increase in prices of primary food articles, which rose sharply in the first half of 1998, in the last couple of weeks.

During the week, the official index for "all commodities" (base:1981-82=100) remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 351.9 (P).

The annual inflation based on the final index for the week ended June 13 stood at 7.1 per cent.