The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) has once again dipped to 1.32 per cent for the week-ended February 23 as against 7.53 per cent in the corresponding week last year.
The fall reverses the surge a week before, when the annual inflation rate calculated on a point-to-point basis rose to 1.39 per cent for the week-ended February 16. The decrease during the week-ended February 23 was on account of a 0.2 per cent slip in the index for manufactured products at 143.4 against the 143.7 in the previous week.
Manufactured items account for over 50 per cent of the weightage in the WPI, which, according to the provisional data released by the government, declined 0.1 per cent to 160.6 for the week ended February 23 from 160.7 in the previous week.
The index for primary articles, the category with the second highest weightage, however, rose 0.1 per cent to 167.2 from 167.1 in the previous week. The index for fuels, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged at the previous week