Food price inflation drops to a 3-month low of 10.30 per cent

Inflation rate based on the wholesale price index of food articles in the country dropped 2 percentage points to 10.30 per cent (provisional) during the week ended 6 November 2010, from 12.30 per cent (provisional) in the previous week.

Coming on the back of increased supplies, the major decline in food price inflation has fueled hopes of a further fall in food price inflation to a single digit shortly.

The decline in inflation rate was due to lower prices of fish (-7 per cent), urad (-4 per cent), barley (-3 per cent), jowar (-2 per cent) and milk, bajra and arhar (-1 per cent each).

The index for the 'food articles' group declined 0.6 per cent to 178.8 (provisional) from 179.8 (provisional) in the previous week due to lower prices of fish (-7 per cent), urad (-4 per cent), barley (-3 per cent), jowar (-2 per cent) and milk, bajra and arhar (-1 per cent each). However, the prices of poultry chicken (2 per cent) and moong (1 per cent) moved up.

Inflation rate based on the wholesale price index of the `non-food articles' group jumped to 22.01 per cent (provisional) in the week ended 6 November 2010 from 20.49 per cent (provisional) in the previous week.

Inflation rate for the `non-food articles' group stood at 4.10 per cent in the comparable week of the previous year.