Inflation Rises To 8 Per Cent

The annual rate of inflation jumped to touch a 63-week high of eight per cent for the week ended February 8.

The annual inflation (provisional-over-final) went up by 0.26 percentage points to 7.99 per cent against 7.73 per cent during the previous week. The wholesale price index for all commodities (base 1981-82 = 100) also rose by 0.3 per cent to 321.5 compared to 320.6 for the previous week.

In comparison, the annual inflation during the corresponding week in 1996 was 4.4 per cent.

Among the commodities whose prices have gone up substantially over the past year are