UPDATE:Inflation declines to -1.55 %

Inflation further declined to (-) 1.55 per cent for the week ended June 27 even though prices of food items like pulses, fish marine, and fruit and vegetables turned expensive.

The wholesale price index stood at (-) 1.30 per cent in the previous week, while in the corresponding week a year ago the rate was as high as 12.03 per cent.

During the week, prices of fish marine were dearer by 10 per cent, arhar, fruit and vegetables by 2 per cent each while urad and moong rose by 1 per cent each.

Prices of butter and imported edible oil also became costlier by one per cent each in the said period.

However, prices of cast iron casting, steel ingots and other metal products and some chemical items got cheapers. Prices of fuel items remained unchanged during the week.

According to HDFC Bank Economist Jyotinder Kaur, "the fuel price hike is likely to affect it (inflation) by 35 basis points for the week ended July 4".

Year-on-year, the prices of cereals went up more than 12.2 per cent, pulses 16.7 per cent, and fruit and vegetables 10.5 per cent. At the same time, the prices of milk have gone up nearly 4.8 per cent over last year, while spices were more expensive, by about 6.2 per cent.

Among manufactured food products, sugar, khandsari and gur went up about 34.3 per cent while processed fish turned dearer by more than 42.7 per cent over the last year.

During the week, fish marine was dearer by 10 per cent, arhar and fruit and vegetables by two per cent each, and urad and moong rose by 1 per cent each. Also butter and imported edible oil turned dearer by one per cent each.

However, the prices of eggs declined 10 per cent, tea 3 per cent, and maize and masur one per cent each.

Among manufactured items, prices of cast iron declined 12 per cent, alloy steel 5 per cent and steel ingots 1 per cent.

At the same time, epoxy resin prices dipped as much as 35 per cent, calcium ammonium nitrate n-content 16 per cent, and methanol 3 per cent.

Inflation for the week ended May 2 was revised to 1.48 per cent from 0.48 per cent as estimated provisionally.