Inflation declines marginally to 6.78 pc

Inflation declines marginally to 6.78 pc
PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

NOV 5: The annual inflation rate dipped minutely by 0.08 percentage points to 6.78 for the week ended October 21, despite continuing rise in fuel prices.

The point-to-point inflation rate based on the wholesale price index (WPI) for all commodities (Base: 1993-94=100) fell from the previous week's level of 6.86 per cent and 3.44 per cent a year ago.

Inflation had fallen by 0.53 and 0.17 percentage points in the previous two weeks.

The WPI, however, rose by 0.1 per cent to 157.5 from the previous week's mark of 157.3 and 147.5 a year ago. The final WPI for the last week of August stood at 153.7 as against the provisional figure of 153.4.

The final inflation rate during August end was at 6.15 per cent compared to provisional figure of 5.94 per cent.

Although prices of fuel moved up by 0.9 per cent during the week, primary articles were cheaper by 0.3 per cent with manufactured products group index remaining unchanged.

The index for primary articles group fell by 0.3 per cent 164.2 due to cheaper food items although prices of non-food items rose by 0.1 per cent.

Primary articles' group index stood at 164.7 points in the previous week and at 162.4 a year ago.

The index for food articles group declined by 0.5 per cent to 173.5 from the previous week's figure of 174.3 on account of a drastic fall in prices of fish-inland (16 per cent) and moderate fall in ragi (four per cent), arhar (two per cent) and rice, jowar, fruits and vegetables and eggs (one per cent each).

However, prices escalated in the case of bajra (five per cent), milk (two per cent), gram and fish marine (one per cent each).

Non-food articles' group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 144.7 from the previous figure of 144.6 due to costlier soyabean (six per cent), fodder (three per cent), copra (two per cent), gingelly seed and raw hides (one per cent each).

But cotton seed became cheaper by six per cent, mesta by three per cent, raw rubber by two per cent and groundnut seed kardi seed by one per cent each.

However, minerals' group declined sharply by one per cent to 114.7 from 115.9 a week ago due to other minerals becoming cheaper by two per cent and metallic minerals by one per cent.

Fuel, power, light and lubricants rose 0.9 per cent due to a two per cent increase in price of mineral oils.

The index for the group stood at 219 as compared to the previous week's level of 217 but was much higher than 167.2 in the previous year.