The Hindu Business Line : Cheaper fuel prices keep inflation rate static

THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation remained unchanged at 7.34 per cent for the week ended November 20, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

The year-on-year inflation was unchanged at the previous week's level of 7.34 per cent even as manufactured products and primary articles, including fruits and vegetables, turned costlier.

Inflation stood at 5.48 per cent during the corresponding period last year.

According to the data, the index of primary articles rose moderately to 192.4 points due to an increase in prices of food and non-food articles. The fuel, power, light and lubricants' group index fell by 0.7 per cent to 289.7 points due to lower prices for naphtha, furnace oil and petrol.

The `heavy-weight' index of manufactured products' group was up marginally by 0.1 per cent to 167 points on account of costlier food products, textiles, chemicals, base metals and machinery and it was 157.4 points in the year ago period.

Among the primary articles group, the food articles' group index was up 0.5 per cent to 193 points due to higher prices for poultry chicken (21 per cent), fish-inland (four per cent), fish-marine and maize (two per cent each) and bajra, moong and fruits and vegetables (one per cent each). However, prices fell for mutton (four per cent), tea, condiments and spices, arhar, gram and jowar (one per cent each).

The index of non-food articles' group was up by 0.3 per cent to 814.6 points due to higher prices for groundnut seed (two per cent) and raw tobacco (one per cent), even as castor seed and linseed became cheaper by one per cent.

Among the manufactured articles, the food products' group index rose by 0.2 per cent to 174 points due to higher prices of rape and mustard oil, rice bran oil and gur (two per cent each) and unrefined oil and imported edible oil (one per cent each).

However, solvent extracted groundnut oil and groundnut oil became cheaper by one per cent.

A one per cent hike in the prices of viscose staple fibre and cotton yarn-hanks pushed up the index for Textiles' group by 0.4 per cent to 136.4 points.

The chemicals and chemical products' group index was up by 0.1 per cent to 182.3 points due to higher prices of epoxy resins (14 per cent) and rubber chemicals (two per cent), but prices fell for synthetic resins (four per cent) and resins (one per cent).

The index for base metals alloys and metal products' group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 206.3 points due to higher prices of angles, channels and sections (two per cent) and ms bars and rounds and steel sheets, plates and strips (one per cent each).

The machinery and machine tools' group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 142 points owing to higher prices of power driven pumps (two per cent) and complete engines (one per cent).

The Government also revised downwards the final inflation figures for the week ended September 25 to 7.38 per cent, as compared to provisional figure of 7.33 per cent.

The final WPI stood corrected at 189 points during the third week of September, as against the provisional estimate of 189.1 points.