The Hindu Business Line : Marginal dip in inflation on lower food prices

High & low
Primary articles' group index declined 0.1 per cent on fall in food and non-food items prices.
Chemicals and chemical products group index up 0.1 per cent.
Metals dipped to 227.9 pts; ATF prices up 4 pc.

New Delhi , Aug. 11

The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.61 per cent during the week ended July 29, lower than the previous week's annual rise of 4.67 per cent. The dip in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of a decline in the prices of some food products and metals, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

Non-food items cheaper

During the latest reported week, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 204.1 points. The index was 195.1 points a year ago. Inflation was at 4.16 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

On a disaggregated basis, the primary articles' group index declined 0.1 per cent to 203.1 points due to a fall in prices of both food and non-food items. The index was 194.1 points during the corresponding period a year ago. The index was at 304.5 points a year ago. The index for manufactured products group was up 0.1 per cent to 176.9 points due to an increase in prices of food products, textiles, chemicals and machinery. The index was at 171.1 points a year ago.

Eggs, spices dearer

Among the primary articles' group, a 1 per cent fall in prices of milk and urad pushed down the food articles group index by 0.2 per cent to 204.4 points, even as eggs, condiments and spices became costlier by 1 per cent each. The non-food articles group index was down 0.1 per cent to 184 points due to lower prices of raw rubber (14 per cent), sunflower (7 per cent), nigerseed (5 per cent) and cottonseed (1 per cent). But, prices moved up for raw cotton (3 per cent), linseed, copra and raw tobacco (2 per cent each) and groundnut seed, castorseed, rapeseed and mustard seed and safflower (1 per cent each).

Among the manufactured products' group, the food products group index rose 0.2 per cent to 180.7 points due to higher prices of processed tea (29 per cent), cottonseed oil and sooji (4 per cent each), imported edible oil (2 per cent) and rice bran oil, atta, gur, maida, groundnut oil and coconut oil (1 per cent each). But bran became cheaper by 6 per cent.

Jute costly

A 3 per cent increase in prices of hessian and sacking bags pushed up the textiles group index by 0.1 per cent to 130.4 points.

Chemicals and chemical products group index was up 0.1 per cent to 195.4 points due to higher prices of carbon black (5 per cent), phenol and resins (2 per cent each) and tooth paste and bopp film (1 per cent each).

The base metals alloys and metal products group index declined marginally to 227.9 points due to lower prices of forging (4 per cent), zinc (2 per cent), zinc ingots, pipes and tubes (1 per cent each). An 8 per cent rise in prices of printing machine pushed up the machinery and machine tools group index by 0.1 per cent to 152.5 points.

The Government revised upward the final inflation figure to 4.88 per cent from the provisional 4.72 per cent, while WPI stood corrected at 202.2 points against the earlier estimate of 201.9 points.