The Hindu : Business : Inflation falls marginally

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 27, 2004

Business

Business

Inflation falls marginally

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 26. Post-monsoon market arrivals of vegetables and other essential food products helped bring down inflation marginally to 7.34 per cent during the week ended November 13 from 7.76 per cent a week ago.

Also, the full impact of the November 4 hike in petroleum product prices had not been felt in the week ended November 13, as the recorded rise in fuel prices was only 0.1 per cent.

The comparable inflation rate in the previous year was significantly lower at 5.42 per cent.

The price level, calculated on the basis of the Wholesale Price Index, fell by 0.42 per cent during the week ended November 13 as essential primary food and non-food articles became cheaper by 0.4 per cent and prices of manufactured products moved down by 0.2 per cent. The index for the primary articles group fell to 191.6 from 192.4 in the previous week.

The group index for food articles was down by 0.2 per cent to 192 points due to lower prices of beef and buffalo (7 per cent), tea and barley (2 per cent each) and fruits and vegetables, urad, gram and arhar (one per cent each). However, prices rose for fish marine (4 per cent), bajra, condiments and spices, and ragi (one per cent each).

Non-food articles group index fell by 0.2 per cent to 184.1 points mainly due to lower prices of cottonseed (3 per cent) and raw cotton (one per cent). Prices rose for raw jute (3 per cent), fodder and castor seed (2 per cent each), and raw silk, copra and gingelly seed (one per cent each).

The minerals group index declined by 9.1 per cent to 271.8 points owing to lower prices of chromite (17 per cent), iron ore (12 per cent) and gypsum (4 per cent). However, prices were up for magnesite (22 per cent), steatite (9 per cent), limestone (8 per cent), fire clay (3 per cent) and vermiculite and barytes (one per cent each).

A steep 14 per cent hike in prices of aviation turbine fuel pushed up the fuel, power, light and lubricants group index to 291.6. It stood at 255.2 a year ago. The heavy-weighted manufactured products group index declined to 166.8 due to cheaper food products and textiles, even as chemicals, non-metallic mineral products and machinery became costlier. The index was 157.4 in the year-ago period.

The food products group index fell by 0.6 per cent to 173.7 owing to cheaper unblended black tea leaf (14 per cent), gur (3 per cent), solvent extracted groundnut oil, ricebran oil and khandsari (2 per cent each) and imported edible oil (one per cent).

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