Cheaper food pulls inflation down 0.06%

Inflation declined marginally by 0.06 per cent to 4.61 per cent for the week ended July 29, compared with 4.67 per cent in the previous week. The decline was mainly due to cheaper food items, including milk.

The wholesale prices-based inflation was 4.16 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities remained unchanged at the previous week's level of 204.1 points. This was in spite of increase in prices of sooji, atta, maida, processed tea, gur, edible oils, eggs and aviation fuel. The index was 195.1 points a year ago.

The government has also upwardly revised the final inflation figure to 4.88 per cent from the provisional 4.72 per cent for the week ended June 3, while WPI stood corrected at 202.2 points as against the earlier estimate of 201.9 points for the same period.

Primary articles group index declined by 0.1 per cent to 203.1 points due to fall in prices of both food and non-food items. The index was 194.1 points in the year-ago period. A 1 per cent fall in prices of milk and urad pushed down the food articles group index by 0.2 per cent to 204.4 points.

However, spices, eggs and condiments became costlier by a percentage point each.

The non-food articles group index was down by 0.1 per cent to 184 points owing to lower prices of raw rubber (14 per cent), sunflower (7 per cent), niger seed (5 per cent) and cotton seed (1 per cent).

But, prices moved up for raw cotton (3 per cent), linseed, copra, raw tobacco (2 per cent each), groundnut seed, castor seed, rapeseed and mustard seed and safflower (1 per cent each).

A 4 per cent increase in prices of aviation turbine fuel pushed up the fuel, power, light and lubricants group index by 0.1 per cent to 327.6 points. This was 304.5 points in the year-ago period.

The index for manufactured products group was up by 0.1 per cent to 176.9 points due to increase in prices of food products, textiles, chemicals and machinery. The index was 171.1 points a year ago.