Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) declined to 5.95% during the week ended January 13 from a two-year high of 6.12% in the previous week primarily due to the decline in prices of food products.According to estimates released today, inflation declined despite the wholesale price index rising 0.05% to 208.3 points for the week ended January 13 as against 208.2 points in the previous week. This is so because inflation data is based on variation of the index over a year period. Index a year ago period stood at 196.6 points, and inflation was at 4.19%.Cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables became cheaper. Urad, whose trading has been suspended in futures market, declined.Prices of other products like edible oil and cement, on which customs duty has been slashed, also declined. Metals showed a mixed trend. The exact effect of the government measures to cut customs duties would be known only in a fortnight.
