The Hindu Business Line : Inflation rate dips to 5.77% on cheaper food products

Relief
This is only for the second time in the last 14 weeks that inflation rate has fallen below 6% mark
Prices of edible oils, hessian and jute & raw silk declined.

New Delhi May 4 The annual Wholesale Price Index-based inflation rose 5.77 per cent during the week ended April 21, lower than the previous week's annual rise of 6.09 per cent, Government data showed on Friday.

This is only for the second time in the last 14 weeks that inflation has fallen below the six per cent mark. The RBI has a target of containing inflation at close to 5 per cent during 2007-08.

Across-the-board fall

The annual inflation rate was 3.85 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year. The Wholesale Price Index of all commodities remained unchanged at 210.9 during the week.

During the latest reported week, inflation in the Primary Articles' group was down to 11.50 per cent, from 12.36 per cent during the previous week. The fall was seen across all major primary article sub-groups.

After showing a marginal rise in the last few weeks, inflation in the fuel group dropped to 1.01 per cent. In case of the Manufactured Products' group, inflation growth came down for the third consecutive week to 5.46 per cent.

On a disaggregated basis, among the Primary Articles' group, the prices of major food products such as eggs, meat, fish, urad, wheat, jowar and arhar declined, while those of fruits, vegetables, poultry chicken, masur, gram and barley moved up.

Food products

Within the Food Products' group, eggs were cheaper by five per cent, urad by two per cent and wheat, jowar and arhar by one per cent each. However, the prices of poultry chicken were up three per cent, while those of masur, gram and barley one per cent each. Vegetables were marginally expensive by 0.4 per cent and fruits by 0.2 per cent.

Fodder was expensive by nine per cent and cottonseed, copra, raw cotton and nigerseed were dearer by two per cent each. However, prices of gingelly seed declined by six per cent, raw silk by three per cent, raw rubber by two per cent and linseed by one per cent.

Within the Manufactured Products' group, prices of food products showed a decline during the latest reported week, including sunflower oil, which registered a four per cent decline in wholesale prices, imported edible oil and unblended black tea leaf by two per cent each and oil cakes and gur by one per cent each. However, the prices of coconut oil moved up by four per cent and gingelly oil by one per cent.

Hessian and sacking bags turned cheaper by four per cent and tyre cord fabric by two per cent. Chemicals like purified terephthalic acid turned expensive by eight per cent, benzene by five per cent and PVC resins by two per cent. In metals, the prices of steel ingots were up 14 per cent, other iron steel by three per cent, foundary pig iron and basic pig iron by two per cent each. However, lead ingots fell by two per cent and copper bars and rods by one per cent.

Inflation was revised to 6.20 per cent for the week ended February 24 from 6.10 per cent estimated provisionally, with the WPI being revised to 209 points against 208.8 points estimated provisionally