Inflation rate eases further to 10.80 per cent news
10 October 2008

The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index declined further to 11.80 per cent for the week ended 27 September from 11.99 per cent the week before, helped by a fall in the pries of food items, including cereals and pulses.

The inflation rate for the same period in the previous year was significantly lower at 3.36 per cent.

The prices of fruits and vegetables during the reporting week declined by one per cent, cereals and pulses by 0.1 per cent and groundnut by two per cent.

In the 'primary articles' group, the annual point-to-point inflation declined to 11.17 per cent, as compared to 11.29 per cent reported last week. Out of a total of 98 articles, 17 articles have shown a decline in prices in the current week as compared to September 20, 2008.  These included among others, bajra, maize, masur, gram, moong, raw wool and cotton, tomatoes, onions, dry chillies, black pepper, okara and sapota.  Another 57 articles have shown no increase in prices.

In the commodity group 'fuel and power', the rate of inflation remained unchanged at 16.52 per cent. Prices of all the 19 commodities remained unchanged in the current week.

In the case of 'manufactured products', the inflation rate declined to 10.33 per cent, as compared to 10.55 per cent in previous week. Out of 318 commodities, a large number, 295 in all, have shown no increase in prices over the last week.  Prices of 10 commodities, including cotton yarn, polyester staple fibre, enameled copper wire, groundnut and gingelly oil, groundnut cake, pipes and tubes and cement, declined. Only 13 products, particularly rice bran, mustard, cottonseed and imported edible oils, lead and zinc ingots, oxygen, calcium ammonium nitrate, ointment and tablets other than vitamins and penicillin witnessed an increase in prices.

Prices of 30 essential commodities marginally increased to 7.74 per cent as of the week ended 27 September from 7.70 per cent reported in the earlier week. There was, however, a decline in the prices of 7 of these commodities and prices of other 16 commodities remained unchanged.

Table: 52-Week Average Inflation (per cent)
52 weeks ending September 27, 2008 September 29, 2007 September 30, 2006
Primary Articles 8.28 9.33 5.39
Fuel and Power 8.26 1.11 8.13
Manufactured Products 7.46 5.42 2.83
All Commodities 7.82 5.31 4.55

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Inflation rate eases further to 10.80 per cent