The Hindu Business Line : Inflation rate rises on costlier fuel, manufactured items

On the rise
The Fuel, power, light and lubricants group index rose by 0.6 per cent due to higher prices of furnace oil, aviation turbine fuel, naphtha and bitumen.
The Manufactured Products group rose 0.2 per cent as the index for the Food Products group rose 0.8 per cent due to higher prices of rice bran oil, oil cakes, sunflower oil, gur and imported edible oil, ghee and khandsari.

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Nov. 16 The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 3.11 per cent for the week ended November 3, higher than the previous week’s annual rise of 2.97 per cent. The rise in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of higher fuel and manufactured product prices.

Primary articles dip

The official WPI for ‘All Commodities’ for the latest reported week rose 0.2 per cent to 215.6 points, from 215.1 points during the previous week. Inflation was recorded at 5.45 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles’ group declined by 0.1 per cent as the ‘Food Articles’ group index dipped 0.3 per cent due to lower prices of jowar (3 per cent), poultry chicken, fruits and vegetables and maize (2 per cent each) and arhar (1 per cent). However, the prices of moong (3 per cent), fish-marine and eggs (2 per cent each)and bajra and pork (1 per cent each) moved up. The Non-Food Articles group index rose 0.4 per cent due to higher prices of raw rubber (3 per cent), copra and soyabean (2 per cent each) and raw cotton and castor seed (1 per cent each). However, the price of mesta (1 per cent) declined.

The Fuel, power, light and lubricants group index rose by 0.6 per cent due to higher prices of furnace oil (6 per cent), aviation turbine fuel (5 per cent), naphtha (4 per cent) and bitumen (3 per cent).

Sugar cheap

The Manufactured Products group rose 0.2 per cent as the index for the Food Products group rose 0.8 per cent due to higher prices of rice bran oil (8 per cent),oil cakes (5 per cent), sunflower oil (4 per cent), gur (2 per cent)and imported edible oil, ghee and khandsari (1 per cent each). However, the prices of coconut oil and groundnut oil (3 per cent each) and sugar (1 per cent) declined. The index for Textiles’ group rose by 0.1 per cent for the previous week due to higher prices of hessian cloth, hessian and sacking bags and woollen cloth (1 per cent each).

The index for Chemicals and Chemical Products group rose 0.3 per cent due to higher prices of acid (all kinds) (7 per cent)and phenol (6 per cent). The index for Non-Metallic Mineral Products group declined by 0.2 per cent due to marginal fall in the prices of cement. The index for Machinery and Machine Tools group rose by 0.4 per cent for the previous week due to higher prices of complete engines (5 per cent).

Final index

The final wholesale price index for the week ended September 8 stood revised at 215 points, as compared to 214.7 points, while the annual rate of inflation based on final index, calculated on point to point basis, stood at 3.46 per cent as compared to 3.32 per cent reported provisionally.