The annual rate of inflation fell marginally to 6.14 per cent for the week ended April 5, 2003, from 6.24 per cent in the previous week. The inflation rate was estimated at 1.5 per cent in the corresponding period of 2002.
According to provisional official data released today, the wholesale price index, using 1993-94 prices as the base, rose 0.1 per cent to 172.1 during the week ended April 5, from 171.9 in the previous week. The increase was on account of higher prices of primary and manufactured goods.
However, prices of naphtha, furnace oil, and bitumen dropped, resulting in a 0.7 per cent decline in the index for fuel, power, light and lubricants. The index stood at 254.4 at the end of the first week of April, against 256.3 during the week ended March 29.
During the week ended April 5, the index for primary articles rose 1 per cent to 179.5 from 177.8 in the previous week.
The increase has been attributed to higher prices of primary food articles like fruits and vegetables, fish, and some pulses like arhar and masur.
The index for food articles rose 1 per cent to 180.1. The index for non-food articles also rose 0.8 per cent on account of higher prices of groundnut seed, raw cotton, and oil seeds.
The index for manufactured goods rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to 151.2 during the week ended April 5, from 151.1 during the previous week.
There was a significant rise in the prices of basic metals, alloys and metal products, and transport equipment, while the prices of food, textiles, chemicals and non-metallic mineral products rose marginally.
Prices of paper and paper products and machinery and machine tools, however, declined.
The final index for the week ended February 8 has been revised to 169.2 from 168.7 in the provisional estimates. Accordingly, the annual inflation rate has been revised to 5.35 per cent from the 5.04 per cent.
