The Hindu Business Line : Inflation up on costlier food, manufactured items

Up & down
Fuel, power, light, lubricants group index unchanged.
Poultry chicken, masur decline.
Prices of steel ingots, lead, zinc rise.
Salt, oil cakes, gur rates down

New Delhi , Aug. 25

The annual wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose 4.92 per cent during the week ended August 12, higher than the previous week's annual rise of 4.82 per cent. The increase in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of higher food and manufactured product prices, Government data showed on Friday.

The inflation rate was 3.67 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

Fuel group unchanged

On a disaggregated basis, the Primary Articles' group index rose 0.5 per cent to 203.6 points. The manufactured products' index rose 0.1 per cent to 177.4 points while the fuel, power, light and lubricants group index remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 328.4 points.

Within the Primary Articles' group, the food articles' index, comprising essential items, rose by 0.5 per cent to 204.8 points, as fruits and vegetables became costlier by two per cent each, and condiments and spices by one per cent each.

However, the prices of poultry chicken declined by two per cent and masur by one per cent. The index for non-food articles rose by 0.5 per cent to 184.7 points due to higher prices of raw rubber (six per cent), niger seed (five per cent) and raw cotton and groundnut seed (one per cent each). However, the prices of raw silk fell by seven per cent, raw jute by five per cent and soyabean by one per cent.

Edible oils dearer

Within the manufactured products' group, the food products category saw imported edible oil became dearer by five per cent, rice bran oil by four per cent and gingelly oil and groundnut oil by one per cent each.

However, salt prices declined by 17 per cent, oil cakes by two per cent and gur by one per cent.

Among textile items, polyester staple fibre rose by three per cent, cotton yarn-cones and hessian and sacking bags by one per cent each. However, the prices of texturised yarn declined by one per cent.

Duplex board, in the paper and paper products group, rose by three per cent and cream laid woven paper by one per cent.

Among chemicals and chemical products group, synthetic resins became dearer by nine per cent, while liquid nitrogen fell by two per cent and liquid chlorine and caustic soda by one per cent each.

Building bricks in the non-metallic mineral products rose by two per cent.

Steel ingots up

Within the index for base metals alloys and metal products' group, prices of steel ingots went up by 15 per cent, zinc by five per cent and lead ingots by three per cent. Bicycles in the transport equipment and parts category rose by seven per cent.

The annual inflation reading for the week ended June 17 was revised to 5.50 per cent from 5.44 per cent.