Food Inflation slowed down for the second successive week and remained in single digit figures.

For the week ended March 5, food inflation touched a three and a half month low of 9.42 per cent, slightly lower than 9.52 per cent in the previous week.

The latest WPI figures show that inflationary pressures are currently coming mainly from fruits.

Inflation in milk, eggs, meat and fish also continues to be high despite softening as compared to the previous week. On the other hand, the price situation of cereals, pulses and potato is under control. Vegetable prices continued to soften.

For the week ended March 5, prices of fruits went up by 19.39 per cent year-on-year while egg, meat and fish prices went up by 13.10 per cent during the period.

But compared to the previous week, inflation in egg, meat and fish went down by two percentage points while it increased by a percentage point for fruits. Inflation in vegetable prices stood at 8.71 per cent, six percentage points lower than 14.27 per cent last year. Cereal prices were only marginally higher by 3.88 per cent.

In the corresponding week last year, food inflation stood at 20.59 per cent. Potato and pulses prices were lower during the week by 9.27 per cent and 3.05 per cent respectively. Wheat prices were slightly higher by 0.69 per cent.

Meanwhile, Prof Kaushik Basu, Chief Economic Advisor, said that headline inflation was on the downward trajectory and was expected to fall below 7 per cent in April, as monetary and fiscal measures were expected to further dampen inflationary expectations.

Non-food articles

Inflation in non-food articles for the week ended March 5 stood at 23.03 per cent, close to six percentage points lower than 29.85 per cent in the previous week.

This was due to lower prices of raw silk (18 per cent), castor seeds (9 per cent), copra (3 per cent), hides (raw), sunflower, gingelly seed and coir fibre (2 per cent each) and raw rubber and groundnut seeds (1 per cent each). But the prices of gaur seeds (7%), fodder (3%), rape and mustard seeds and flowers (1% each) moved up.

The inflation in minerals stood at 12.35 per cent. But fuel and power inflation came back into double digit figures at 12.79 per cent.

Primary articles

Inflation for the combined primary articles group, comprising food, non-food articles and minerals, increased by 12.31 per cent on an annual basis, and about one percentage point lower than the previous week.

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