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Snapping the downward trend of two straight weeks, food inflation surged just ahead of the Budget. The annual Wholesale Price Index based inflation rose 11.49 per cent for the week ended February 12, up from 11.05 per cent in the previous week.
The latest surge comes on top of a 21.82 per cent reading in food inflation during the corresponding week a year ago.
According to official data released on Thursday, inflation in the eggs, meat and fish basket was up 15 per cent, milk rose by 17 per cent and vegetable were up 16 per cent in the week under review, despite a 10 per cent decline in potato prices. Wheat and pulses also dipped by 1 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
Apart from food items, inflation in the case of non-food articles also increased by 32 per cent on a year-on-year basis, up from 27 per cent in the previous week.
Inflation for minerals remained unchanged to 17 per cent.
PRIMARY ARTICLES
Inflation for the combined Primary Articles group, comprising food, non-food articles and minerals, increased to 16 per cent on an annual basis, from 15 per cent in the previous week. Inflation in the fuel and power group rose 12.14 per cent in the latest week.
On a sequential basis, major food items, including fruits and vegetables, fish and some pulses declined perceptibly, even as milk and mutton inched up.
According to the data, the index for the Food Articles group declined by 0.3 per cent from the previous week due to lower prices of fruits and vegetables (5 per cent), urad, fishmarine and condiments and spices (2 per cent each), and bajra, moong and maize (1 per cent each). Items such as milk (5 per cent), jowar and mutton (2 per cent each) and barley and ragi (1 per cent each) moved up.
NON-FOOD ARTICLES
The index for the Non-Food Articles group rose by 3 per cent from the previous week due to higher prices of raw cotton (12 per cent), castor seed (8 per cent), copra (5 per cent), gaur seed (4 per cent), raw rubber (3 per cent), coir fibre and mesta (2 per cent each), soyabean and sunflower (1 per cent each).
However, the prices of raw silk and cotton seed (1 per cent each) declined. The fuel and power index rose by 0.2 per cent from the previous week due to higher prices of furnace oil and naphtha (2 per cent each).
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