The Hindu Business Line : Costlier vegetables, food items push up inflation

Turning dearer
Prices were up for mono block pumps by 56 per cent.
Rates for synthetic yarn increased 38 per cent.
Moong increased by seven per cent; zinc by 6 pc.

New Delhi , May 26

The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.32 per cent during the week ended May 13, higher than the previous week's annual rise of 3.96 per cent. The increase in the year-on-year inflation was largely on account of vegetables, wheat, manufactured products and energy. The inflation rate was at 5.60 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities for the week ended May 13, rose by 0.4 per cent to 200.5 from 199.7 for the previous week, a UNI report said. On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles' group index rose 0.8 per cent to 197.3 from 195.8 points for the previous week. The index for manufactured products rose 0.4 per cent to 175 points due an increase in prices of textiles, paper, chemicals, building materials and metals.

The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants rose marginally to 319.8 points from 319.7 points.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the index for food articles rose 1.2 per cent to 201 points due to an increase in prices of pulses, fruit and vegetables, wheat, milk and meat. Foodgrain became costlier by 0.9 per cent with prices of wheat rising one per cent.

The prices of pulses as a group rose 2.9 per cent during the week. While moong became dearer by seven per cent, gram and urad were expensive by two per cent each and masur and arhar were costlier by one per cent each.

Among other food products, ragi was up two per cent, while milk, mutton, barley and arhar moved up one per cent each. However, prices of eggs declined by one per cent.

Among non-food articles, prices of logs and timber declined by five per cent each, castor seed by four per cent and raw cotton and copra by one per cent each. However, linseed, rapeseed and mustard seed, groundnut seed and tobacco moved up by one per cent each.

Among the manufactured products' group, in case of the textile products' group, prices of synthetic yarn were up 38 per cent. Among machinery and machine tools category, mono block pumps were more expensive by 56 per cent.

Chemicals such as calcium ammonium and phenyl were up eight per cent and seven per cent respectively.

Building bricks got costlier by four per cent followed by ceramic tiles going up by three per cent. Prices of zinc ingots were up six per cent and lead ingots by two per cent. Inflation for week ended March 18 was revised downwards to 3.69 per cent against the provisional estimate of 4.06 per cent and the wholesale price index to 196.7 points as against 197.4 points.