Inflation Rises Marginally To 6.04 Per Cent, Wpi At 322.8

For the first time in 10 weeks, rate of inflation rose marginally to 6.04 per cent during the week ended May 10.

The annual rate of increase in prices based on the wholesale price index (WPI) rose by 0.06 percentage points to 6.04 per cent, from 5.98 per cent in the previous week.

The index (provisional) for all commodities (base 1981-82=100) also moved up by 0.2 per cent during the week to 322.8 from 322.3.

In comparison, the rate of inflation during the corresponding week in 1996 was 4.43 per cent.

This is the first time that the inflation rate has recorded an increase after showing a declining trend ever since it touched eight per cent earlier this year.

 

During the week the prices of non-coking coal (14 per cent), packed tea (9 per cent) and raw rubber and bidi (5 per cent each) witnessed sharp increases, while that of newsprint (-16 per cent), barley (-11) per cent), instant coffee (-10 per cent) and eggs (-8 per cent) eased substantially.

Meanwhile, the annual rate of inflation based on the final index for the week ended March 15, 1997 stood at 7.2 per cent compared to 7.7 per cent for the week based on provisional index.

The declining trend in inflation came after seven months of steady rise in the rate of increase in prices between July 1996 and January 1997.

The annual rate of inflation, which was around 11.5 per cent in February 1995, steadily declined till June when it touched a record low of 4.2 per cent. However, it started climbing up sharply after the petroleum price hike in July first week last year.

Interestingly, inflation based on consumer price index (CPI) for industrial workers