Retail inflation for industrial workers eased to 9.13 per cent in December compared to 11.47 per cent in November and 11.17 in the same month in 2012 on account of softening of prices of foods items.
"The year on year inflation measured by monthly CPI-IW (Consumer Price Index-Industrial Workers) stood at 9.13 per cent for December 2013 as compared to 11.47 per cent for the previous month and 11.17 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year," a Labour Ministry statement said.
According the press release, the food inflation stood at 11.49 per cent in December against 16.17 per cent in previous month and 13.53 per cent during the corresponding month of 2012.
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The downward pressure to the change in the current index came from food group contributing (-) 4.96 percentage points to the total change.
At item level, onion, ginger, chillies green, brinjal, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, tomato, potato and other vegetable items, sugar etc. Are responsible for the decrease in the index.
However, this neutralised to some extend by fish, eggs, poultry, milk, pure ghee, garlic, fire wood, ESI (employees' state insurance) contribution, etc, putting upward pressure on the index.
At the centre level, Giridih recorded maximum decline of 12 points, while Ahmedabad, Chhindwara, Varanasi, Munger, Jamalpur, Nagpur and Bhavnagar (10 points), Jamshedpur (9 points) and Rourkela, Ludhiana, Tripura and Angul Talchar (8 points each).
However, Sholapur and Puducherry centres recorded increase of four points and two points respectively and the index remained stationary in 37 centres.