The Hindu Business Line : Inflation falls marginally on cheaper manufactured items

Sector-wise data
The Primary Articles' group index rose 0.3 per cent to 202.7 points as prices moved up for food, non-food articles and minerals.
The index for manufactured products, which have highest 63.75 per cent weight in total WPI, declined 0.1 per cent to 176.7 points.
The index for Paper and Paper products group rose 0.1 per cent to 188.7 points.

New Delhi , July 28

The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.52 per cent during the week ended July 15, marginally lower than last week's annual rise of 4.68 per cent. The slowdown in the year-on-year inflation rate was largely on account of a decline in some manufactured product prices, Government data said on Friday.

The wholesale price index (WPI) for all commodities ended the latest reported week at 203.7 points. The index was 194.9 points a year ago. Inflation was up 4.45 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles' group index rose 0.3 per cent to 202.7 points as prices moved up for food, non-food articles and minerals. The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged at its previous week's level of 326.3 points.

The index for manufactured products, which have highest 63.75 per cent weight in total WPI, declined 0.1 per cent to 176.7 points.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the index for food articles group rose 0.2 per cent to 203.6 points due to higher prices of jowar (two per cent) and fruits and vegetables and gram (one per cent each). However, prices declined for tea (four per cent), moong (three per cent), maize, masur and urad (two per cent each).

The index for non-food articles group rose 0.4 per cent to 184.6 points due to higher prices of sunflower (six per cent), niger seed (three per cent) and soyabean, castor seed, raw cotton and groundnut seed (one per cent each).

Textile groups decline

The index for Textiles group declined 0.8 per cent to 130 points due to lower prices of synthetic yarn (24 per cent). However, the prices of cotton yarn, hessain and sacking bags, other cotton yarn and hessian cloth moved up one per cent each.

The index for Paper and Paper products group rose 0.1 per cent to 188.7 points. The index for Rubber and Plastic Products group rose 0.1 per cent to 144.6 points due to higher prices of decorative laminates (three per cent).

The index for Non-Metallic Mineral Products group declined 0.1 per cent to 188.9 points due to a marginal decline in the prices of cement.

Metals up

The index for Base Metal Alloys and Metal Products group rose 0.1 per cent to 226.6 points due to higher prices of zinc ingots (nine per cent), zinc and lead ingots (seven per cent) and basic pig iron, foundry pig iron and steel sheets and plates (one per cent). However, the prices of aluminium bars and rods (four per cent) and aluminium ingots (two per cent) declined.

The final inflation number for the week ended May 20 has been revised to 5.05 per cent from the provisional figure of 4.74 per cent while the WPI final index number was revised to 201.7 points against the provisional estimate of 201.1 points.