The Hindu Business Line : Energy, food prices push up inflation

, THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 3.16 per cent during the week ended September 3, up from a week-earlier annual rise of 3.01 per cent.

The spurt in the year-on-year inflation was largely due to a rise in energy and food prices, according to data released here today by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

During the latest reported week, the point-to-point Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose to 195.7 points, from 189.7 points a year ago. The inflation rate was at 8.15 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles' group index rose by 0.7 per cent to 194.7 points during the latest reported week. The index was 194.5 points during the corresponding week a year ago. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group index went up 1.4 per cent to 308.3 points due to surge in prices of naphtha (19 per cent), furnace oil (12 per cent) and aviation turbine fuel (seven per cent). The index was 282 points a year ago. The Manufactured Products group index was down 0.1 per cent to 170.9 points due to fall in prices of food, chemicals, metals and machinery. The index was at 167.5 points a year ago.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the index for Food Articles' group went up 0.8 per cent to 197.6 points due to a rise in prices of fruits and vegetables (six per cent), eggs and condiments and spices (one per cent each).

The Non-Food Articles' group index rose by 0.5 per cent to 181.7 points due to higher prices of logs and timber (five per cent), safflower, fodder and groundnut seed (two per cent each) and sunflower, rape and mustard seed, castor seed, skins, raw silk, soyabean and raw rubber (one per cent each). But prices fell for raw cotton (two per cent) and gingelly seed and niger seed (one per cent each).

Among the Manufactured Products' group, the Food Products' group index was down 0.2 per cent to 177 points due to lower prices of salt (four per cent) and coconut oil, butter, oil cakes, gur and gingelly oil (one per cent each). However, prices moved up for bran (two per cent) and imported edible oil (one per cent). The Paper and Paper Products' group index went up 0.1 per cent to 177.8 points owing to higher prices of map litho paper (three per cent) and cream laid woven paper (one per cent). The index for Chemicals and Chemical Products' group index declined 0.1 per cent to 186.6 points due to lower prices of antibiotics (nine per cent), acid (two per cent) and caustic soda (one per cent).

The Government revised upward the inflation figure for the week ended July 9 to 4.46 per cent, from the provisional 4.14 per cent. The WPI stood corrected at 194.5 points as against the earlier estimate of 193.9 points.

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