The Hindu Business Line : Inflation falls on cheaper non-food items

THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation dropped marginally to 5.05 per cent during the week ended March 26, from 5.11 per cent during the previous week. The year-on-year inflation fell by 0.06 per cent, mainly on account of a fall in prices of edible oils and non-food products, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry here on Friday.

During the latest reported week, the WPI rose by 0.20 per cent to 189.4 points, with indices of primary articles and manufactured products surging. While the Primary Articles' group index rose 0.4 per cent to 185.7 points, mainly due to a near one per cent rise in the prices of food articles, the Manufactured Products group index rose by 0.2 per cent to 168.9 points due to costlier tobacco, textiles, paper, chemical, non-metallic mineral, base metals, machinery and transport equipment. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants' group index was firm at the previous week's level of 287 points.

In case of the Primary Articles' group, the Food Articles' group index surged to 186.1 points owing to costlier vegetables (eight per cent), barley (two per cent) and wheat and gram (one per cent each). However, prices fell for eggs (seven per cent) and ragi, bajra, jowar and maize (two per cent each). The index of Non-Food Articles' group declined by 0.6 per cent to 178.5 points due to cheaper gingelly seed (three per cent), copra and groundnut seed (two per cent each) and raw silk, rape and mustard seed and linseed (one per cent each), but skins and raw jute became costlier by one per cent each.

Among the Manufactured Products' group, the Food Products' group index fell by 0.7 per cent to 174.2 points due to lower prices of rice bran oil (four per cent), khandsari (three per cent), rape and mustard oil, gingelly oil and sugar (two per cent each) and groundnut oil, bagasse and imported edible oil (one per cent each), but coconut oil price went up by one per cent. A three per cent hike in the price of scented chewing tobacco pushed up the Beverages, Tobacco and Tobacco Products' group index by 0.1 per cent to 220.9 points.

One per cent increase each in the prices of woollen yarn, texturised yarn and cotton yarn-hanks led to 0.2 per cent rise in the Textiles' group index to 131 points. A marginal increase in the price of newspaper pushed up Paper and Paper Products' group index by 0.1 per cent to 176.7 points. Chemicals and Chemical Products' group index went up by 0.5 per cent to 185.1 points due to costlier calcium ammonium nitrate n-content (28 per cent), methanol (six per cent) and blasting powder (one per cent), even as vitamin liquids became cheaper by two per cent. A marginal price hike in cement led to a 0.1 per cent rise in the index of Non-Metallic Mineral Products' group to 168.3 points.

Base Metals Alloys and Metal Products' group index rose by one per cent to 213.7 points due to higher prices for CR coils, blooms, billets and slabs, wires and tensile plates (four per cent each), CR sheets (three per cent), angles, channels and sections (two per cent each), brass sheets and strips, pipe and tubes (one per cent each).

The index for Machinery and Machine Tools' group was up by 0.3 per cent to 144.6 points.

An eight per cent increase in the price of broad gauge diesel locomotives pushed up Transport Equipment and Parts' group by 0.1 per cent to 158.3 points.

The Government also revised downwards inflation to 5.14 per cent for the week ended January 29 as against the provisional estimate of 5.25 per cent.

WPI stood corrected at 188.3 points during the last week of January, as against the provisional figure of 188.5 points.

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