The Hindu Business Line : Inflation dips on cheaper food, non-food items

THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.5 per cent during the week ended December 10, marginally lower than the previous week's annual rise of 4.55 per cent, according to data released here today by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The fall in the year-on-year inflation was largely on account of cheaper food and non-food items.

During the latest reported week, the WPI stood at 197.4 points, as against 188.9 points during the corresponding period last year. Inflation was at 6.84 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles' group index fell 0.8 per cent to 195.8 points due to cheaper food and non-food items. The index was 186.2 points a year ago. The fuel, power, light and lubricants' group index stood firm at the previous week's level of 310.7 points. It was 288.8 points a year ago. The manufactured products' group index remained at the previous week's level of 172.7 points, despite a fall in prices of food products, non-metallic minerals and machinery. The index was 167.6 points during the same period a year ago.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the food articles' group index declined 0.5 per cent to 199.1 points owing to lower prices of fish-marine (nine per cent), fish-inland (four per cent), moong (three per cent) and milk, arhar, pork, barley and fruits (one per cent each). However, prices moved up for vegetables, urad, tea, bajra and maize (two per cent each) and wheat and gram (one per cent each). The non-food articles group index fell by 1.4 per cent to 174.9 points due to cheaper skins (11 per cent), groundnut seed (eight per cent), soyabean and hides (three per cent each) and copra, rapeseed, mustardseed and linseed (one per cent each). But prices moved up for tanning materials (21 per cent), mesta (three per cent), raw silk (two per cent) and raw rubber (one per cent each).

Among the Manufactured Products' group, the food products' group index fell 0.4 per cent to 177.9 points due to lower prices of oil cakes (two per cent, mustard oil and ghee (one per cent each), but cotton seed and gur prices rose by two per cent and one per cent respectively.

A marginal fall in cement prices pulled down the Non-Metallic Mineral Products group index by 0.3 per cent to 168.2 points. A nine per cent increase in zinc prices pushed up the Base Metals Alloys and Metal Products group by 0.1 per cent to 221.8 points.