Inflation rate up 253 bps to 7.31 per cent in December

The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index soared to 7.31 per cent (provisional) during December 2009, up 253 basis points from 4.78 per cent (provisional) in the previous month.

Inflation rate stood at 6.15 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Built-up inflation in the financial year (April-March 2009-10) so far was 8.02 per cent, compared with 1.86 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The official wholesale price index for 'all commodities' (base: 1993-94 = 100) rose 0.4 per cent to 246.5 (provisional) in December 2009 from 245.4 (provisional) in the previous month.

The index for the `primary articles' group rose 1.2 per cent to 284.1 (provisional) in December 2009 from 280.6 (provisional) in the previous month.

Among primary articles, the index for the 'food articles' group rose 0.5 per cent to 288.4 (provisional) in December 2009 from 287.1  (provisional) for the previous month due to higher prices of urad (8 per cent), moong (7 per cent), condiments and spices (5 per cent), pork, fish-marine, eggs, arhar and masur (3 per cent each), bajra and milk (2 per cent each) and rice and gram (1 per cent each). However, the prices of poultry chicken (-7 per cent), vegetables and fruits (-4 per cent) and jowar, fish-inland and tea (-1 per cent) declined.