The Hindu Business Line : Inflation falls on cheaper fuel, fruits, vegetables

THE annual wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation fell to a six-month low of 6.39 per cent for the week ended December 25, from 6.5 per cent recorded during the previous week. The fall in the year-on-year WPI rate was largely on account of a drop in prices of fuel, fruits and vegetables, edible oil and manufactured products, according to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday.The WPI fell by 0.2 per cent to 188.2 points due to decline in fuel and manufactured products' prices by 0.2 per cent each, although primary articles turned costlier by 0.2 per cent during the latest reported week.

The index for primary articles' group rose by 0.2 per cent to 186.1 points mainly due to a spurt in mineral prices and non-food articles. The fuel, power, light and lubricants group index fell by 0.2 per cent to 288.1 due to lower prices of naphtha and furnace oil.

The manufactured products group index dipped by 0.2 per cent to 166.6 points due to cheaper food products, textiles, chemicals and basic metals, even as prices of machinery, beverage and tobacco went up. Among the primary articles' group, the index for food articles remained unchanged at previous week's level of 185 as prices rose for mutton (4 per cent), fish inland (2 per cent), jowar and eggs (1 per cent each), although prices fell for poultry chicken (5 per cent), vegetables (3 per cent), urad (2 per cent), barley, arhar, fruits (1 per cent each).

The non-food articles group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 181.2 due to costlier logs and timber (4 per cent), raw rubber and mesta (2 per cent each) and raw silk (1 per cent). Copra was, however, cheaper by 2 per cent, safflower and fodder by 1 per cent each.

The Mineral group index shot up by 3.3 per cent to 280.9 due to higher prices of chromite (52 per cent), magnesite (23 per cent), steatite (10 per cent), flourite (8 per cent), gypsum (4 per cent) and iron ore (3 per cent).

Among the manufactured products' group, the index of food products group declined by 1.1 per cent to 172.9 points due to lower prices of oil cakes (eight per cent), solvent extracted groundnut oil (four per cent), rice bran oil (two per cent) and hydrogenated vanaspati, gingelly oil and imported edible oil (one per cent each). However, prices moved up for gur (three per cent), khandsari (two per cent) and salt, butter and sugar (one per cent each). A five per cent hike in the prices of zarda pushed up the beverages tobacco and tobacco products' group index by 0.1 per cent to 217 points.

A seven per cent dip in the prices of texturised yarn pushed down the textiles' group index by 0.3 per cent to 134.3 points, even as hessian and sacking bags became costlier by one per cent.

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