India’s wholesale price inflation almost steady at 9.73 per cent in October
14 Nov 2011
The annual rate of inflation based on wholesale price index (WPI) stood at 9.73 per cent (provisional) in October 2011 against 9.72 per cent (provisional) in the previous month and 9.08 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.
Build up inflation in the financial year (beginning 1 April 2011) so far was 4.88 per cent against 4.84 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The official wholesale price index for 'all commodities' (base: 2004-05 = 100) for October 2011 rose 0.6 per cent to 156.8 (provisional) from 155.8 (provisional) in the previous month.
The index for the `primary articles' group rose 1.0 per cent to 204.3 (provisional) during the month from 202.2 (provisional) in the previous month.
Among the primary articles group, the index for the 'food articles' group rose 2.2 per cent to 200.9 (provisional) during October 2011 from 196.5 (provisional) in the previous month due to higher prices of fish-freshwater (up 12 per cent), gram (up 10 per cent), condiments and spices (up 6 per cent), fruits and vegetables (up 5 per cent), egg (up 3 percent), urad, masur, rice and arhar (up 2 per cent each) and ragi, pork, moong, tea and milk (up 1 per cent each). However, the prices of fish-marine (down 7 per cent), poultry chicken and bajra (down 5 per cent each), maize and jowar (down 4 per cent each), barley and coffee (down 2 per cent each) and wheat (down 1 per cent) declined.
The index for the 'non-food articles' group declined by 3.0 per cent to 178.9 (provisional) during October 2011 from 184.4 (provisional) in the previous month due to lower prices of safflower (down 19 per cent), castor seed (down 12 per cent), soyabean (down 9 per cent), flowers (down 8 per cent), sunflower, raw jute, raw cotton and coir fibre (down 6 per cent each), groundnut seed (down 4 per cent), raw silk and copra (down 3 per cent each) and rape and mustard seed and niger seed (down 1 per cent each). However, the prices of gingelly seed (up 10 per cent), gaur seed and linseed (up 3 per cent) and fodder (up 1 per cent) moved up.
The index for the 'minerals' group rose 0.3 per cent to 307.0 (provisional) during October 2011 from 306.1 (provisional) in the previous month due to higher prices of steatite (up 15 per cent), magnesite (up 7 per cent), barytes (up 5 per cent) and crude petroleum (up 3 per cent). However, the prices of copper ore (down 12 per cent), chromite (down 5 per cent), bauxite and zinc concentrate (down 3 per cent each), manganese ore (down 2 per cent) and sillimanite and iron ore (down 1 per cent each) declined.