Food price inflation eases to 17.58 per cent
25 Feb 2010
The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index of food articles declined to 17.58 during the week ended 13 February 2010 from 17.97 per cent during the previous week, despite still-firm food prices.
Food price inflation has risen continuously during the past four weeks in succession.
Food price inflation stood at 9.49 per cent in the comparable week a year ago (week ended 14 February 2009).
The build-up of food price inflation so far during the financial year beginning 1 April 2009 was 17.25 per cent compared with 6.66 per cent during the comparable period of the previous year.
The wholesale price index (base: 1993-94=100) for the 'food articles' group declined 0.45 per cent to 286.2 (provisional) from 287.5 (provisional) in the previous week due to lower prices of tea (-3 per cent), masur, gram and fruits and vegetables (-2 per cent each) and arhar, moong and barley (-1 per cent each). However, the prices of bajra and urad (1 per cent each) moved up.
The annual rate of inflation based on the index of the `primary articles' group as a whole stood at 15.84 per cent (provisional) during the week under review against 16.23 per cent (provisional) in the previous week and 6.23 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year (ended 14 February 2009).
The index for the `primary articles' group as a whole declined 0.45 per cent to 284.5 (provisional) from 285.8 (provisional) in the previous week.
The index for the 'non-food articles' group declined 0.51 per cent to 256.0 (provisional) from 257.3 (provisional) in the previous week, due to lower prices of logs and timber (-9 per cent), soyabean (-5 per cent) and rape and mustard seed and fodder (-1 per cent each). However, the prices of coir fibre (55 per cent), mesta (13 per cent) and raw silk, gingelly seed, castor seed and copra (1 per cent each) moved up.
The inflation rate based on final index of the `fuel, power, light and lubricants' group remained unchanged at its previous week's level of 9.89 per cent (provisional) against (-) 3.98 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year (ended 14 February 2009).