Food price inflation rate slows to 17.22 per cent

The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index of food articles edged lower to 17.22 per cent during the week ended 3 April 2010 from 17.70 per cent in the previous week.

The decline was due mainly to lower prices of cereals like wheat and bajra as also some pulses like masur and arhar.

Food price inflation stood at 8.61 per cent in the comparable week a year ago (week ended 4 April 2009).

The build-up of food price inflation so far during the financial year (beginning 1 April 2010) was also lower at 1.43 per cent against 1.84 per cent during the comparable period of the previous year.

The index for the 'food articles' group rose 1.4 per cent to 291.4 (provisional) from 287.3 (provisional) in the previous week due to higher prices of fruits and vegetables (9 per cent) and fish-marine, maize, urad and condiments and spices (1 per cent each). However, the prices of bajra (-2 per cent) and wheat, masur and arhar (-1 per cent each) declined.
 
The inflation rate based on the wholesale price index of non-food articles for the week ended 3 April 2010 stood lower at 10.24 against 11.56 per cent during the previous week and 1.81 per cent in the comparable week of the previous year.

Build-up of inflation for the `non-food articles' group during the financial year so far was 0.12 per cent against 11.56 per cent in the previous week and 1.32 per cent in the comparable week of the previous financial year.