The Hindu Business Line : Costlier metal, alloys push up inflation rate

New Delhi, Jan. 18 The annual Wholesale Price Index-based inflation rose 3.79 per cent for the week ended January 5, up from the previous week’s annual rise of 3.50 per cent.

The Wholesale Price Index of all commodities was up at 216.6 points against 216 points.

Dearer tobacco

The spurt in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of a rise in prices of some manufactured products, including metals and alloys, and some fuel products, even as prices of some essential food items like vegetables and fruits dropped. The wholesale price-based inflation was recorded at 6.37 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago.

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles’ group index rose by 0.1 per cent as the index for the Non-Food Articles group rose 0.5 per cent due to higher prices of tobacco (3 per cent), fodder, sunflower and raw cotton (2 per cent each) and rape and mustard seed and copra (1 per cent each).

The index for Food Articles group, however, declined by 0.1 per cent due to lower prices of bajra (2 per cent) and jowar, urad and fruits and vegetables (1 per cent each). However, the prices of maize (2 per cent) and gram and arhar (1 per cent each) moved up.

Fuel, power, light

The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group index rose by 1.2 per cent due to higher prices of coking coal (10 per cent), non-coking coal (9 per cent), bitumen (7 per cent), furnace oil (4 per cent) and light diesel oil and naphtha (2 per cent each). However, the prices of aviation turbine fuel (4 per cent) declined.

The Manufactured Products group index rose by 0.1 per cent as the index for the Food Products group rose by 0.1 per cent due to higher prices of cattle feed (10 per cent), baby food (all kinds) (5 per cent), oil cakes and gingelly oil (3 per cent each) and rice bran oil, butter, coffee powder and imported edible oil (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of bagasse (26 per cent), sooji (rawa) (2 per cent) and khandsari and maida (1 per cent each) declined.

Chemical products

The index for the Chemicals and Chemical Products group declined by 0.1 per cent due to lower prices of benzene (6 per cent) and purified terephthalic acid (2 per cent). However, the price of PVC resins (3 per cent) moved up.

The index for Base Metals, Alloys and Metal Products group rose by 0.1 per cent due to higher prices of foundary pig iron, basic pig iron, other iron steel and steel sheets, plates and strips (1 per cent each). For the week ended November 10, the final WPI stood revised at 215.8 points, as compared to the provisional estimate of 215.4 points, while the annual rate of inflation based on final index, calculated on point to point basis, stood revised at 3.20 per cent as compared to 3.01 per cent points estimated using the provisional data.