Inflation falls to 6.38%

AGENCIES
Posted on 2009-01-02
NEW DELHI- The inflation rate for the week ended on December 20 dipped further for the eighth consecutive week to a near 10-month low of 6.38 per cent, against 6.61 per cent for the previous week, primarily due to easing prices in primary articles, fuel items and manufactured products.
The annual inflation rate was 3.74 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year, an official statement said on Thursday.
This is the lowest inflation rate since March 1, and inflation has now more than halved from August’s peak of 12.91 per cent. It is well within the central bank’s forecast of about seven per cent for 2008-09.
The Wholesale Price Index for ‘All commodities’ for the week ended December 20 declined by 0.2 per cent to 230.2 (Provisional) from 230.7 (Provisional) for the previous week.
The index for ‘Primary Articles’ group declined by 0.2 per cent to 248.8 (Provisional) from 249.2 (Provisional) for the previous week.
The index for ‘Food Articles’ group declined by 0.1 per cent to 242.6 (Provisional) from 242.9 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of tea (three per cent) and gram, fruit and vegetables, barley, arhar and condiments and spices (one per cent each).
However, the prices of jowar (six per cent) and maize and bajra (one per cent each) moved up.
The index for ‘Non-Food Articles’ group declined by 0.1 per cent to 236.1 (Provisional) from 236.4 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of cottonseed (two per cent) and castor seed (one per cent).
However, the prices of raw silk (five per cent) and raw rubber (two per cent) moved up.
The index for ‘Minerals’ group declined by 0.5 per cent to 606.9 (Provisional) from 610.1 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of chromite (42 per cent), steatite (four per cent).
However, the prices of barytes (38 per cent), fire clay (11 per cent) and asbestos (5 per cent) moved up. The index for ‘Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants’ group declined by 0.5 per cent to 330.5 (Provisional) from 332.1 (Provisional) for the previous week due to lower prices of aviation turbine fuel (13 per cent), bitumen (seven per cent), light diesel oil (six per cent) and furnace oil (three per cent).