India's food price inflation rises further to 9.46 per cent

The wholesale price-based inflation rate in the country continued to climb for a second week, ending at 9.46 per cent during the week ended 4 December 2010, from 8.9 per cent during the previous week.

The spike in inflation has been due mainly to an increase in the prices of vegetables and fruits as also condiments and spices.

With prices of onions and potatoes and some other vegetables ruling high in the wake of crop damage due to unseasonal rains in Maharashtra and petrol costing Rs3 more, analysts expect inflation to climb further, belying RBI and government predictions of a narrowing of inflation rate towards the close of December.

Food price inflation in the country stood at 20.90 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous year.

Build-up of food price inflation so far during the financial year (beginning 1 April 2010) was 10.52 per cent against 22.33 per cent in the similar period of the previous year.

The index for the 'food articles' group rose 0.2 per cent to 181.7 (provisional) from 181.4 (provisional) in the previous week due to higher prices of condiments and spices (4 per cent), fruits and vegetables (2 per cent) and gram (1 per cent). However, the prices of fish (down 7 per cent), egg (down 5 per cent), fish-inland, poultry chicken and arhar (down 2 per cent each) and masur (down 1 per cent) declined.