Inflation Moves Marginally Up To 5.78 %

The annual rate of inflation moved up marginally as prices of pulses and vegetables continued to rise. Inflation, based on the wholesale price index (WPI), for the week ended January 17, rose by 0.05 percentage points to 5.78 per cent (provisional), the highest in last six months.

Inflation was at 5.73 per cent (provisional) a week before and 7.28 per cent in the corresponding week of last year.

In the last five weeks, the prices of pulses and vegetables have gone up by a massive 14.57 per cent and 16.62 per cent, respectively.

The index for all commodities (base:1981-82=100) during the week stood at 338.3 (p) compared with 337.9 (p), registering a 0.1 per cent increase over the previous week.

 

While inflation based on final index stood at 4.0 per cent for the week ended November 22 (the latest available) as against 3.4 per cent on the provisional index.

The final index for all commodities for the week was 331.9 compared with 329.9 based on the provisional index.

As against inflation based on WPI, the rate of increase in price rise based on consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW), which is closer retail prices, for December rose to 6.3 per cent from 4.9 per cent in the previous month.

On an annual basis, the increase has been more pronounced in prices of electricity and mineral oils, which include both petrol and diesel, at 17.15 per cent and 11.85 per cent, respectively.

While the annual increase in food articles was at 5.89 per cent, food grains at 2.03 per cent, cereals at 0.61 per cent, pulses at 9.14 per cent, vegetables at 8.33 per cent, oil seeds at 5.20 per cent and manufactured products at 4.42 per cent.

During the week under reference, prices of steatite (up 14 per cent), soybean (up 6 per cent), tea, raw rubber and bars and rods (up 5 per cent each), maize, raw skins and gears (up 4 per cent each), blooms (down 10 per cent), copra (down 7 per cent), polyester staple fibre (down 6 per cent) and acrylic blooms (down 5 per cent) fluctuated substantially over the previous week.

Among the three major groups, indices of primary articles and manufactured products moved up while that of fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged.

Index for primary articles shot up by 0.3 per cent during the week to 355.6 from 354.5 the week before. From the group, index of food articles went up by 0.3 per cent to 410.1 from 408.8 on account of increase in prices of tea (5 per cent), maize (4 per cent), eggs and vegetables (2 per cent each) and wheat, jowar, gram and arhar (1 per cent each).

During the week, prices of masur (3 per cent), milk (2 per cent) and bajra, barley, ragi and condiments and spices 1 per cent each) eased from the sub-group.

Index for non-food articles also increased to 0.4 per cent to 352.2 from 350.9 as prices of soybean (6 per cent), raw rubber (5 per cent), raw skins (4 per cent), raw cotton, rape and mustard seed and fodder (2 per cent each) and groundnut seed (1 per cent) became dearer.

However, prices of copra (7 per cent), gingelly seed (3 per cent), cotton seed and linseed (2 per cent each) and raw jute (1 per cent) from the group became cheaper during the week.

Minerals index rose by 0.1 per cent to 166.7 from 166.6 due to increase in price of steatite (14 per cent).

Fuel, power, light and lubricants group remained unchanged for the eighth consecutive week with the index at 377.4.

The third major group manufactured products rose marginally to 321.2 from 321.1 for the previous week.

Index for food products fell by 0.2 per cent to 328.9 from 329.5 due to fall in prices of gur, rape and mustard oil and coconut oil (1 per cent each).

From the sub-group, prices of gingelly oil and solvent extracted groundnut oil (2 per cent each) and rice bran oil (1 per cent) went up during the week.

Index for textiles rose by 0.3 per cent to 314.2 from 313.4 due to higher prices of woollen yarn (3 per cent) and cotton yarn and jute manufactures (1 per cent).

Prices of polyester staple fibre (6 per cent) went down during the week.

Chemicals and chemical products index eased by 0.1 per cent to 271.7 from 271.9 due to dearer acrylic fibre (5 per cent).

Index for basic metals, alloys and metal products rose by 0.2 per cent to 350.1 from 349.4 on increase in prices of bars and rods (5 per cent) and carbon tools and high speed steel (2 per cent). From the group, prices of blooms (10 per cent) and pipes and tubes and ferro silicon (2 per cent each) declined.

Indices of machinery and machine tools and transport equipment and parts increased by 0.1 per cent each to 300 and 278.3 from 299.7 and 278, respectively, due to increase in prices of diesel engines (2 per cent) and gears (4 per cent).

Indices for all other groups remained unchanged at the respective previous weeks levels.