Inflation drops to 7.38%

Inflation upped to 8.02% for week ended July 31 vs provisional level of 7.61%.

Inflation dropped to 7.38% for the week ended September 25, mainly due to fall in prices of vegetables and essential commodities.

The point-to-point inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) fell from the previous week's level of 7.80% even as manufactured items and fuel prices stood firm.

The inflation rate in the year-ago period was 5.39%.

The WPI declined by 0.1% to 189.1 points in the week under review. It was 176.1 points in the year-ago period.

The government revised upwards inflation to 8.02% for the week ended July 31 as compared to the provisional level of 7.61%. The WPI stood corrected at 187.3 points during the last week of July as against the provisional level of 186.6 points.

The index of primary articles' group was down substantially by 0.6% to 191.5 points due to cheaper food and non-food articles. It stood at 182.8 points in the previous year period.

Food articles' group index fell by 0.4% to 188.1 points due to lower prices of fish-marine (4%), fruits and vegetables, moong, condiments and spices, maize, bajra and mutton (1%).

However, prices rose for poultry chicken (5%), tea and masur (2%each), and ragi and barley (1% each).

The index for non-food articles' group was down by 1.1% to 193.6 points due to a fall in prices of raw cotton (5%), niger seed and sunflower (4% each), groundnut seed, safflower and cotton seed (1% each). But prices increased for gingelly seed (3%), copra, castor seed and soyabean (2% each).

Despite rising oil prices in international markets, the fuel, power, light and lubricants' group index stood firm at 281.6 points. It was 254.6 points in the year-ago period.

Crude prices have touched a record high of $53 a barrel on concerns of supplies from Nigeria and increased winter demand in the west, but the government has not allowed raising of fuel prices.