Wholesale food price inflation rate falls further to 9.67 per cent

The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index of food articles in the country eased further to 9.53 per cent (provisional) during the week ended 24 July 2010 from 9.67 per cent (provisional) in the previous week.

The fall in inflation rate was due mainly to lower prices of fruits and vegetables (-3 per cent) and fish-marine (-2 per cent).

Food price inflation stood at 14.58 per cent in the comparable week a year ago (week ended 25 July 2009).

Build-up of food price inflation so far during the financial year (beginning 1 April 2010) was 3.75 per cent (provisional) during the week ended 24 July 2010 against 3.96 per cent (provisional) in the previous week. It was 11.72 per cent in the corresponding week of the previous year.

The index for the 'food articles' group declined 0.2 per cent to 298.7 (provisional) during the week ended 24 July 2010 from 299.3 (provisional) in the previous week due to lower prices of fruits and vegetables (-3 per cent) and fish-marine (-2 per cent). However, the prices of rice (2 per cent) and condiments and spices, maize, jowar, gram and urad (1 per cent each) moved up.

Inflation rate based on the wholesale price index of non-food articles, however, rose further to 21.28 per cent (provisional) during the week ended 24 July 2010 from 21.01 per cent (provisional) in the previous week. Inflation rate for the group stood at a negative (-) 3.64 per cent in the comparable week of the previous year.