The Hindu Business Line : Inflation falls a tad on cheaper food items

THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation rate slid marginally to 7.3 per cent for the week ended November 27, from the previous week's level of 7.34 per cent. The year-on-year inflation rate dipped largely on account of a sharp dip in food and non-food items, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry here on Friday

The inflation stood at 5.49 per cent during the corresponding period last year. During the latest reported week, the WPI was down 0.3 per cent to 189.6 points.

According to the data, the mass consumption Primary Articles' group was down substantially by over one per cent to 189.8 points due to cheaper food and non-food items. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants' group index remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 289.7 points. The heavyweight Manufactured Products rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to 167.2 points due to costlier food products, chemicals and non-metallic minerals, even as the prices of textiles and machinery dipped.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the Food Articles' group index fell by 1.4 per cent to 190.3 points due to lower prices of vegetables (12 per cent), ragi (three per cent), fish-inland (two per cent) and rice (one per cent). However, prices rose for jowar (two per cent) and fish-marine and condiments and spices, maize, bajra and moong (one per cent each).

The index for Non-Food Articles' group was down by 1.3 per cent to 182.2 points due to cheaper groundnut seed (seven per cent), raw rubber (six per cent), linseed (three per cent), castor seed (two per cent) and safflower and cottonseed (one per cent each). But the prices increased for copra (six per cent), rape and mustard seed (two per cent) and mesta (one per cent).

Among Manufactured Products, the Food Products' group index rose by 0.7 per cent to 175.3 points due to higher prices of oil cakes (seven per cent) and coconut oil (one per cent), even as the prices fell for salt (three per cent), groundnut oil (two per cent) and gur, butter, ghee and khandsari (one per cent each).

The index for textiles' group declined by 0.1 per cent to 136.3 points due to lower prices of cotton yarn-hanks and other cotton yarn (one per cent each), but the prices moved up for hessian and sacking bags and hessian cloth (one per cent each). A two per cent hike in the prices of soda ash pushed up Chemicals and Chemicals Products' group index by 0.1 per cent to 182.4 points.

The Government again revised downwards the point-to-point WPI inflation to 7.15 per cent during the week ended October two compared to the provisional level of 7.2 per cent. The final WPI stood corrected at 188.9 points during the first week of October as against the provisional 189 points.