India's Annual Food Inflation Continues To Rise

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On an year-on-year basis, inflation of food prices, as measured by the wholesale price index or WPI for the week ended January 30, rose for a third-week to 17.94% from 10.98% for the corresponding week in the preceding year due to the higher prices of potatoes, pulses, vegetables, wheat, milk, and cereals.

Rate of inflation in the previous week was 17.56%. The 52-week average inflation for the week ended January 23 was 12.94%, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry show.

Rate of inflation during the year under the 'Non-Food Articles' category increased to 11.32% from 4.55% a year ago. The 52-week average inflation for the week ended January 23 was 1.68%. Primary articles

The annual rate of inflation for the week ended January 30 was 15.75%, higher than the 8.17% for the corresponding week in the preceding year and flat at 14.56% for the last week. The 52-week average inflation for the week under review was 8.98%, the data show.

They indicate the index for this group, with a weightage of 22.02%, rose by 0.11% from the preceding week.

Among the sub-groups, index for the 'Food Articles' category increased by 0.28% due to the higher prices of pork, fruits and vegetables, fish-marine, condiments and spices, as also bajra. However, those of eggs, arhar, tea, urad, gram, fish-onland, masur and barley declined. The rate of inflation was minus 0.04% for the corresponding week of the preceding year.

The index for the 'Non-Food Articles' group dropped by 0.47% due to the lower prices of raw skins, raw rubber, raw cotton, linseed and mesta, whereas those of raw silk, copra, as also groundnut seed moved up.

Fuel, Power, Light & Lubricants

The index for this major group, with a weightage of 14.23%, for the week under review rose by 1.20% due to increase in the prices of light diesel oil and furnace oil. However, the prices of bitumen declined.

Annual rate of inflation for this category was 10.44%, compared to the minus 3.54% for the corresponding week in the preceding year, and 5.88% for the previous week. The 52-week average inflation for the week ended January 30 was minus 4.87%.

Last week, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said at the Chief Minister's conference in New Delhi that the worst of food inflation was over. With good crop prospects, remunerative procurement prices now being in place and Indian prices being broadly in line with international prices, Singh was confident that the food prices will soon be stabilized.

The government also decided to constitute a Standing Core Group of State Chief Ministers and concerned Central Ministers to recommend measures to increase agricultural production and reduce the gap between farm-gate and retail prices.

(Market News Provided by RTTNews)