Bullion Mixed, G'Nut Oil Recovers

The rate of inflation based on the all India consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW), with 1982 as the base year, has fallen to 7.7 per cent in May compared with 8.4 per cent in April. The CPI-IW was 10.5 per cent in May last year.

The downturn in the point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-IW, follows the trend in the wholesale price index which touched a fourteen-year low of 3 per cent for the week ending June 12.

The fall in inflation in the last few months, is primarily due to the improved performance of agriculture. Foodgrain output is estimated at 203 million tonnes. With the sector expected to perform well due to the eleventh consecutive good monsoon, inflation rates in the economy are expected to be low for some time.

In the revised estimates for National Income released by the Central Statistical Organisation on Wednesday, the gross domestic product (GDP) has been revised to 6 per cent as compared with the 5.8 per cent estimated earlier. The GDP has been revised due to an increase in the growth rates of agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors. Their growth rate is estimated at 7.6 per cent as compared with 5.3 per cent earlier.

The CPI-IW had touched 420 in September 1998, because of a runaway increase in the prices of primary food articles. The CPI-IW had touched 16.3 per cent over the same month in 1997, calculated on a point-to-point basis. It had breached the double-digit mark in May 1998, after 13 months, when it touched 10.5 per cent.

In November 1998, the CPI-IW touched a five-year high of 19.7 per cent over the same month in 1997, even as the annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices showed a sharp decline to 6.21 per cent for the week ending December 19, 1998. The index for May 1999 increased by four points to touch 419. The increase in the index for May last year was six points.

Of the 70 centres for which CPI is recorded, it has shown an increase from one to 15 points in 48 centres. In 12 centres, it remained constant while in 10 centres it recorded a decrease from one to 21 points. name="description" content="PowerGrid's national bipartite committee met here on Tuesday and decided that the corporation's employees would continue to donate a day's salary every month to the National Defence Fund for the Kargil victims.">