The Hindu Business Line : Inflation rises to 5.45% on costlier minerals

The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 5.45 per cent during the week ended November 18, higher than the previous week's annual rise of 5.29 per cent. The increase in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of a rise in prices of minerals and manufactured products, Government data showed on Friday.

During the latest reported week, the wholesale price index (WPI) for all commodities ended at 208.8 points. The WPI was at 198 points a year ago. Inflation was at 4.27 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

Primary Articles down

On a disaggregated basis, the index for primary articles declined 0.5 per cent to 213.4 points due to cheaper food and non-food items. The index was at 199.3 points during the same period a year ago. The fuel, power, light and lubricants group index stood firm at the previous week's level of 329.4 points. The index was at 312.2 points during the same period a year ago. The heavy-weighted manufactured products group index was up 0.1 per cent to 180.3 points as food products, rubber, chemicals, non-metallic minerals and base metals became costlier. Among the primary articles' group, the food articles group index dipped 0.8 per cent to 216.7 points due to lower prices of jowar (5 per cent), fruits and vegetables (4 per cent), urad (3 per cent) and fish marine and arhar (1 per cent each). Nigerseed dearer

The non-food articles group index declined 0.1 per cent to 188.2 points due to fall in prices of raw silk and raw rubber (4 per cent each), raw tobacco (2 per cent) and gingelly seed and raw cotton (1 per cent each).

The Government revised the final inflation figure to 5.43 per cent for the week ended September 23 from the provisional 4.77 per cent, while the WPI stood corrected at 207.9 points as against the earlier estimate of 206.6 points.