Inflation at 6.21% after 9-week climb

The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation level touched a 39-week high of 6.21 per cent, for the week ended January 10. Inflation has been rising for nine consecutive weeks now.

Inflation, which was 6.09 per cent in the previous week, was higher on account of rising prices of primary articles and manufactured products. The point-to-point WPI-based inflation was 3.84 per cent in the corresponding week last year.

The rising trend in inflation may be reversed next week onwards. In the previous financial year, inflation had crossed 4 per cent in the week ending January 18 and risen to 6.24 per cent for the week ended 29 March.

The recently announced cuts in customs and excise duties and improved vegetable availability after the severe winter are also expected to push down the general price levels.

Fuel prices are unlikely to be raised in view of the upcoming elections. The general expectation is that inflation will touch 4 to 4.5 per cent by the end of 2003-04.

The final inflation level for the week ended November 15 was revised upwards to 5.42 per cent, against the provisional figure of 5.12 per cent reported earlier, according to an official release.

At a disaggregated level, the index for primary articles was up 0.3 per cent, while that for manufactured products 0.1 per cent. The index for fuels remained unchanged at the previous week's level.

The index for primary articles rose on account of a 0.4 per cent rise in prices of food articles. Mutton prices went up 7 per cent and bajra prices 5 per cent.

The index for non-food articles fell 0.1 per cent due to a 4 per cent fall in soyabean prices and 2 per cent fall in prices of raw silk, raw rubber and copra.

The index for manufactured products' group rose marginally 0.1 per cent due to the increasing prices of food products, textiles, chemicals, machinery and non-metallic mineral products.

The index for food products rose 0.2 per cent due to a 5 per cent rise in gur prices, 2 per cent rise in oil cake prices and 1 per cent rise in prices of gingelly oil, atta, all kinds of bran and ghee.

Rice bran oil prices, however, fell 7 per cent and imported edible oil, solvent-extracted groundnut oil and coconut oil one per cent each. Cement prices went up 1 per cent.

Items, whose prices rose sharply, included liquid nitrogen (10 per cent), cables (5 per cent) and toilet soap and synthetic detergent (5 per cent).

Prices of purified terephthalic acid and household laundry soap fell 4 per cent each, while those of pipes and tubes fell 3 per cent during the week.