Mumbai: The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index declined marginally by 0.02 per cent to 11.89 per cent during the week ended 12 July from 11,91 per cent a week ago.

Inflation, which snapped its nine-week-long surge and declined marginally as prices of food items , government data showed.

The moderation was due to a fall in prices of food items like potato, maize, sea fish, tea and imported edible oils, though other commodities like coffee, fruits and vegetables, mutton and certain pulses like urad, moong and arhar became expensive during the week.

''Out of 98 primary articles, the prices of 10 items have shown a decline, while 54 articles showed no increase," a finance ministry statement said.

It noted that among the manufactured products, 219 articles out of total 318 commodities showed no increase in prices during the week, while nine items became cheaper.

The inflation rate, which stood at 7.82 per cent for the week ended 10 May, shot up to 11.05 per cent in June after an increase in prices of petroleum products. It further rose to 11.91 per cent for the week ended on 5 July.

The rate of inflation was 4.76 per cent during the corresponding week a year-ago.

The fall in inflation, data for which was released this evening, for the week ending 12 July comes within 48 hours of the UPA government winning a crucial trust vote in Parliament, where the Opposition criticised it for the rising prices.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), however, is expected to raise cash reserve ratio (CRR) for banks next week when it announces the quarterly review of its monetary policy.