Inflation moves up a notch to 6.1%

 The inflation data came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressed relief in Parliament that inflation rate has declined in the last two weeks. Finance Minister P Chidambaram on February 8, had also described rising inflation as a larger social problem, much more than a political or economic one.

"The market was expecting inflation around 6 to 6.10%. The high inflation figure is due to the low base-year effect. It will take couple of weeks to moderate," said Arun Kaul, general manager (treasury and finance) at Punjab National Bank.

The prices of gram, fruit and vegetables, urad and condiments and spices declined marginally. However, the prices of niger seed and groundnut seed, castor seed and linseed moved up.

The index of manufactured products rose by 0.4% to 182.5 from 181.8 for the previous week. Cement prices rose by 0.4%. Prices of some capsules other than vitamins and antibiotics became expensive up to 24%. The index of chemicals and chemical products group rose by 1.9% to 197.2.

Fuel prices, however, remained intact at the previous week's level.