Inflation up marginally to 0.31% on food price rise

Inflation rose marginally to 0.31 per cent for the week ended March 21 as prices of certain food items such as tea, gur, aerated water and imported edible oil went up.

Inflation as measured by movement in wholesale prices was 0.27 per cent for the week ended March 14 and 7.8 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago.

The price of blended tea went up by 48 per cent, while packaged tea and aerated water became expensive by 22 and 10 per cent, respectively.

Among other items which became dearer were soft drinks, oil cake, bajra, condiments and spices, while among non-food items cement, rubber, plastic products and PVC fittings became expensive.

Soyabean, niger seed, raw rubber, groundnut, mustard seed and raw cotton too became dearer.

On the other hand, fruit and vegetables, barley, jowar, raw silk, khandsari, salt, mustard and coconut oil became cheaper.

Similarly, prices of furnace oil, textile items, hair oil, steel ingots and bars went down.

Meanwhile, inflation for the week ended January 24 has been revised downwards from 5.07 per cent to 4.7 per cent.