Inflation declined marginally to 4.02 per cent for the week ended February 11 from 4.08 per cent in the preceding week despite an increase in the prices of food articles, fuel and manufactured products.The index for primary articles accounting for a weight of 22.02 per cent rose by 0.5 per cent. The index for food articles rose by 0.9 per cent for the previous week because of higher prices of milk, arhar, maize, wheat, fruits and vegetables. The prices of gram, however, declined by two per cent, while prices of eggs and rice declined by one per cent each. The index for non-food articles group fell by 0.6 per cent to 174.9 points because of lower prices of cotton seed and gingelly seed (8 per cent each), raw cotton (3 per cent) and groundnut seed (2 per cent).However, prices moved up for raw wool (8 per cent), raw rubber (7 per cent), raw jute (3 per cent), fodder (2 per cent) and copra (1 per cent).Fuel, power, light and lubricants group index was up by 0.1 per cent to 311.6 points due to increase in prices of lubricants (2 per cent) and naphtha (1 per cent), while bitumen became cheaper by 1 per cent. The index was 289.6 points a year ago.The heavy-weighted manufactured products group index rose by 0.2 per cent to 171.5 points as food products, beverages, textiles, paper, chemicals, cement and basic metals became costlier. The index was 168 points in the year ago period. Wholesale price index (WPI) rose by 0.2 per cent to 196.6 points, against 189 points a year ago. Inflation was 5.12 per cent during the corresponding week the previous year.The revised (final) inflation figure for the week ended December 17 stood unaltered at the provisional level of 4.62 per cent and WPI at 197.1 points.
