Fuelled by a 10 per cent rise in prices of mineral oils, the rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index shot up to a 58-week high of 5.55 per cent for the week ending April 15. This marked a 0.91 percentage point rise from 4.64 per cent in the previous week.
The inflation rate was 3.42 per cent in the corresponding week of the previous year.
The final WPI index for all commodities' (base:1993-94) for the week ending February 19 was 3.32 per cent, against 3.18 per cent reported on the basis of the provisional index.
At a disaggregated level, the index for fuel, power, light and lubricants rose 5 per cent during the week ending April 15. The indices for primary articles and manufactured products rose by 0.1 per cent each over the week.
Within the major group of primary articles, the index for food articles remained unchanged despite a 3 per cent rise in moong prices, a 2 per cent rise in fruit prices and an 8 per cent fall in prices of inland fish.
The index for non-food articles, however, rose by 0.2 per cent mainly due to a sharp 16 per cent rise in raw jute prices. Within this sub-group, raw tobacco prices rose by 2 per cent while prices of rapeseed, mustard seed and copra declined by 2 per cent each.
The manufactured products' index rose by 0.1 per cent despite a 1 per cent fall in the index for beverages, tobacco and tobacco products. Within this sub-group, rectified spirit prices fell 18 per cent while prices of soft drinks rose by 10 per cent and those of Indian-made foreign spirit rose 2 per cent.
The food products index rose 0.4 per cent mainly due to a 2 percent rise in sugar prices. However prices of biscuits fell 4 per cent and prices of maida, atta and rice bran oil fell by 3 per cent each.
In the non metallic mineral products group, the index rose by 0.3 per cent due to a 2 per cent rise in railway sleeper prices and a 1 per cent rise in cement prices. Prices of sheet glass however fell by 14 per cent.
