Inflation rate edges up to 9.90 per cent in March

The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) edged up to 9.90 per cent (provisional) in March 2010 from 9.89 per cent (provisional) in the previous month. The WPI-based inflation rate stood at 1.20 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Build-up of inflation so far in the financial year was 9.90 per cent against 1.20 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The official wholesale price index for 'all commodities' (Base: 1993-94 = 100) rose 0.3 per cent to 250.8 (provisional) in March 2010, from 250.1 (provisional) in the previous month.

The index for the `primary articles' group declined 0.5 per cent to 283.2 (provisional) from 284.7 (provisional) in the previous month.

Among primary articles, the index for the 'food articles'  group declined 0.6 per cent to 284.4 (provisional) from 286.1 (provisional) in the previous month due to lower prices of tea (12 per cent), arhar and masur (6 per cent each), fruits and vegetables (5 per cent), gram and eggs (4 per cent each), urad (3 per cent), condiments and spices (2 per cent) and bajra, wheat, maize, rice and fish-inland (1 per cent each). However, the prices of poultry chicken (-5 per cent), pork (-4 per cent), milk (-3 per cent) and jowar, barley, coffee and moong (-1 per cent each) moved up.

The index for the 'non-food articles' group declined by 0.8 per cent to 254.4 (provisional) from 256.5 (provisional) in the previous month, due to lower prices of niger seed (-13 per cent), raw hides (-11 per cent), soyabean (-7 per cent), sunflower and rape and mustard seed (-4 per cent each), logs and timber, groundnut seed, copra, raw silk, tobacco and linseed (-2 per cent each).  However, the prices of coir fibre (10 per cent), raw rubber (9 per cent), raw skins (7 per cent), mesta (6 per cent), raw jute (4 per cent), tanning materials (3 per cent), and raw cotton (1 per cent) moved up.