The annual rate of inflation, based on whole-sale prices, continued its upward trend for the fourth consecutive week to touch 3.72 per cent for the week ended January 11, as compared to 1.57 per cent in the corresponding period last year.
The price change, as measured by Wholesale Price Index, rose 0.06 per cent from 3.66 per cent in the previous week on account of costlier manufactured products and primary items, even as prices of vegetables declined substantially.
The WPI, however, stood firm at 167.3 during the week, according to official data released in New Delhi on Sunday.
Among the individual groups, the index for mass consumption primary articles declined 0.3 per cent to 172.1 from the previous week's 172.7 due to cheaper food and non-food items.
Food articles' group index was down 0.3 per cent to 176 as prices fell for vegetables (4 per cent), barley and fish-inland (3 per cent each), arhar, masur and eggs (2 per cent each) and gram and mutton (1 per cent each).
Prices, however, rose for jowar and bajra (3 per cent each), maize, poultry chicken and condiments and spices (2 per cent each) and ragi and coffee (1 per cent each).
The index for non-food articles' group fell 0.4 per cent to 166.6 owing to cheaper castor seed and fodder (3 per cent each), groundnut seed (2 per cent) and raw cotton, raw silk and linseed (1 per cent each).
Prices increased for sunflower (3 per cent), kardi seed (2 per cent) and cotton seed, copra and gingelly seed (1 per cent each).
The minerals' group index was up marginally 0.1 per cent to 118.8 due to higher prices for fire clay (17 per cent) and magnesite (4 per cent), while there was 7 per cent dip in the price of barytes and 1 per cent each in stealite and vermiculite.
The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants' group stood unchanged at the previous week's figure of 241.2 and the index was at 228.9 during the corresponding week last year.
The manufactured products' group index was up 0.1 per cent to 149.2 due to costlier food products, textiles, chemical products, non-metallic mineral products and basic metal alloys and metal products. The index was 144.1 in the same period previous year.
The final WPI for the week ended November 16 stood corrected at 167.9 as compared to the provisional level of 167.5, while the final inflation for the week was at 3.39 per cent as against the provisional figure of 3.14 per cent.