Mumbai: The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index rose to 3.83 per cent for the week ended January 12 from 3.79 per cent in the previous week, mainly due to rise in prices of manufactured items and some food articles.

The inflation rate stood at 6.15 per cent in the corresponding week a year ago.

Among food articles, maize and rice became expensive, while prices of gram, fish marine and jowar declined.

Among manufactured items, prices of imported edible oil, sunflower oil, sugar and coconut oil moved up.

The inflation rate, however, is well below the Reserve Bank's upper limit target of 5 per cent for the current fiscal.

The government also revised the inflation rate for the week ended November 17 to 3.35 per cent from 3.21 per cent. The government revises the inflation rate after a delay of two months on additional price data.

The RBI may come under pressure after the US Federal Reserve cut the target overnight lending rate on January 22 by three quarters of a percentage point to 3.5 per cent to avert a recession in the world's largest economy.

The rupee, which rose 12.3 per cent in 2007, may appreciate further on higher overseas inflows as investors try to take advantage of high-yielding emerging market assets. The rupee has gained 0.2 per cent after the Federal Reserve cut its key interest rate to the lowest since 2005.

Analysts expect the Reserve Bank to announce a cut interest rate in its review of monetary policy scheduled on January 29.