The Hindu Business Line : Cheaper food items keep inflation on leash

The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.06 per cent during the week ended March 18, lower than the previous week's annual rise of 4.28 per cent a week earlier. The fall in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of cheaper food articles, including poultry and tea prices, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

The WPI declined by 0.1 per cent to 197.4 points due to cheaper primary articles while manufactured product prices remained firm. The index was 189.7 points during the same period a year ago period. The inflation rate was 5.45 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles' group index declined by 0.6 per cent to 192 points due to cheaper food and non-food items. It was at 184.4 points a year ago. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group index rose 0.5 per cent to 316.3 points due to increase in prices of bitumen (nine per cent), furnace oil (five per cent) and naphtha (four per cent) The index was 290.4 points a year ago. The Manufactured Products group index remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 172.8 points despite food, textiles, chemicals, non-metallic mineral, base metals products becoming cheaper. It was 169.1 points a year ago.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the Food Articles group index was down 0.5 per cent to 193.8 points due to cheaper poultry chicken (seven per cent), tea (six per cent), vegetables (4.3 per cent), moong and fish-inland (two per cent each), fruits, eggs and pork (one per cent each). But, jowar, arhar and wheat became costlier by one per cent.

The index for Non-Food Articles group fell 0.9 per cent to 174.6 points owing to decline in prices of fodder (five per cent), raw cotton (four per cent), raw rubber (three per cent), safflower and copra (two per cent each) and castor seed, linseed and mesta (one per cent each). But, there was one per cent hike in the prices of gingelly seed and raw silk.

Among the Manufactured Products' group, the Food Products group index declined 0.4 per cent to 180.6 points owing to lower prices of coconut oil (three per cent), rape and mustard oil, biscuits and rice bran oil (two per cent each) and oil cakes and sugar (one per cent each). However, prices moved up for skimmed milk powder (four per cent), sugar and sweet meat confectionery (three per cent) and baby food (two per cent).

The Government revised downward the inflation figure to 4.24 per cent for the week ended January 21 from the provisional 4.51 per cent while the WPI stood corrected at 196.5 points as against the earlier estimate of 197 points.