The Hindu Business Line : Inflation down despite costlier food items

THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation fell marginally to 5.23 per cent during the week ended March 12, from 5.3 per cent during the previous week.

The year-on-year inflation fell by 0.07 per cent even as price of vegetables and some of the manufactured products surged during the latest reported week, according to data released today by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The WPI rose by 0.1 per cent to 189.1 points during the week ended March 12.

The Government also revised upwards the inflation for the week ended January 15 to 5.48 per cent, as compared to the provisional level of 5.42 per cent. The WPI stood corrected at 188.7 points during the second week of January, as against the provisional estimate of 188.6 points.

According to the data, the Primary Articles' group index rose by 0.2 per cent to 185.2 points due to costlier food and non-food items. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants' group index stood firm at 289 points, higher international oil prices notwithstanding.

The heavy-weight Manufactured Products group index was up by 0.1 per cent to 168.2 points owing to costlier food products, non-metallic mineral, basic metals, machinery and transport equipments.

Among the Primary Articles' group, the Food Articles' group index increased by 0.3 per cent to 184.8 points owing to higher prices for fish-marine (10 per cent), vegetables (four per cent) and fruits, bajra and tea (one per cent each).

Prices, however, fell for eggs (five per cent), barley (three per cent), arhar, condiments and spices and moong (one per cent each).

The Non-Food Articles' group index rose by 0.3 per cent to 179.8 points owing to one per cent hike in the price of sunflower, soyabean, raw cotton, raw silk and raw jute. Prices, however, fell for copra (two per cent) and castor seed and cottonseed (one per cent each).

The Minerals' group index plummeted by near three per cent to 264.9 points due to seven per cent fall in the price of iron ore, even as prices more than doubled for chromite, steatite (seven per cent), flourite (three per cent) and asbestos (two per cent).

Among the Manufactured Products' group, the Food Products' group index rose by 0.5 per cent to 175.7 points as prices rose for oil cakes (four per cent), khandsari, imported edible oil and gur (one per cent each). There was, however, a decline in prices of bagasse (four per cent), coconut oil (three per cent), rice bran oil (two per cent) and groundnut oil and gingelly oil (one per cent each).

The textiles' group index was down by 0.2 per cent to 130.7 points due to lower prices synthetic yarn (two per cent), cotton yarn-cones and nylon filament yarn (one per cent each), but there was one per cent spurt in the prices of texturised yarn, polyester yarn and tyre cord fabric.

The index for Chemicals and Chemical Products' group declined by 0.1 per cent to 184 points owing to cheaper liquid indictables other than vitamins (15 per cent) and liquid nitrogen (three per cent). However, prices went up for toilet soap (three per cent), phenol (two per cent) and acid, caustic soda and oxygen (one per cent each).

A marginal increase in cement prices pushed up Non-Metallic Mineral Products' group index by 0.2 per cent to 168.1 points.

The Base Metals Alloys and Metal Products' group index was up by 0.1 per cent to 208.9 points due to higher prices of ordinary casting (four per cent), cast iron casting (two per cent) and zinc (one per cent).

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