The Hindu Business Line : Inflation declines on cheaper food, edible oils

THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation dropped by 0.05 per cent to 5.37 per cent for the week ended January 22, mainly due to cheaper vegetables and fruits, edible oils, fuel and manufactured products. The point-to-point inflation index fell for the eighth consecutive week, from 5.42 per cent in the previous week.

The WPI declined by 0.1 per cent to 188.4 points, with the indices of primary articles, fuels and manufactured products moving downwards.

The index of Primary Articles' group was down by 0.4 per cent to 184.7 points due to a sharp fall in the prices of minerals and non-food articles and a marginal dip in food prices. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants' group index was down marginally to 287.9 points due to a 1-per cent decline in the prices of naphtha and furnace oil. The heavyweight Manufactured Products' group index declined marginally by 0.1 per cent to 167.4 points due to cheaper food products and basic metals, while textiles, paper, rubber, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment turned costlier.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the Food Articles' group index fell by 0.1 per cent to 183.8 points due to cheaper vegetables (4 per cent), poultry chicken (3 per cent), arhar, moong, jowar, fruits, eggs and condiments and spices (1 per cent each). However, prices scaled up for masur and urad (2 per cent each) and maize and milk (1 per cent each).

The index for Non-Food Articles declined by over one per cent to 180 points due to lower prices of rape and mustard seeds and groundnut seed (4 per cent each), safflower (3 per cent), raw cotton and raw jute (2 per cent each) and raw rubber (1 per cent). But prices moved up in case of skins (4 per cent), fodder (3 per cent), raw silk (2 per cent), linseed, niger seed, copra and soyabean (1 per cent each).

The Minerals' group index plummeted by over 2 per cent to 274.8 points due to lower prices for fire clay (39 per cent), vermiculite (8 per cent), magnesite (5 per cent), iron ore (3 per cent) and fluorite (1 per cent).

In case of the Manufactured Products, the Food Products' group index fell by 1 per cent to 175.7 points due to lower prices of rice bran oil (5 per cent), khandsari and cotton seed oil (3 per cent each), sugar and oil cakes (2 per cent each), gingelly oil, rape and mustard oil, solvent extracted groundnut oil, imported edible oil, hydrogenated vanaspati and gur (1 per cent each). But sugar and sweetmeat confectionery became costlier by 3 per cent.

The textiles' group index rose by 0.3 per cent to 133.4 points due to higher prices of texturised yarn (4 per cent), viscose filament yarn (2 per cent) and hessian cloth (1 per cent). The index for Paper and Paper Products' group was up by 0.3 per cent to 175.4 points because of rise in the prices of printing paper white (2 per cent) and other boards and cream-laid woven paper (1 per cent each). A 5-per cent jump in the prices of suitcases pushed up Rubber and Plastic Products' group index by 0.2 per cent to 133.2 points.

The Chemicals and Chemical Products' group index was up by 0.2 per cent to 183.6 points as prices moved up in the case of ammonium sulphate (5 per cent) and titanium dioxide (2 per cent), but BOPP film became cheaper by 2 per cent. A marginal increase in cement prices pushed up the Non-Metallic Mineral Products group index by 0.1 per cent to 156.8 points. A 1-per cent dip in the prices of pipes and tubes pushed down the Base Metals Alloys and Metal Products' group index marginally to 206.4 points. Machinery and Machine Tools' group index was up by 0.3 per cent to 143 points due to higher prices of air and gas compressors (11 per cent) and enamelled copper wires (5 per cent). A 3-per cent hike in the prices of automobile spare parts pushed up the Transport Equipment and Parts group index by 0.2 per cent to 155.9 points.

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