A sharp fall in the prices of fruits and vegetables notwithstanding, inflation rose for the fifth consecutive week to a 28-week high of 5.57 per cent for the week ended December 13 as wheat, maize, jowar, food products, some edible oils and textiles became costlier.
The point-to-point wholesale price index inflation was up by 0.19 per cent from the previous week's level of 5.38 per cent with prices of heavy-weighted manufactured products going up marginally.
The growth in general price level was only 3.21 per cent in the previous year period, indicating that the cost of living had surged by over 200 basis points.
However, WPI stood unchanged at the previous week's mark of 176.4 points though primary products and fuels' group indices fell. The index was 167.1 points a year ago.
The Centre had to revise inflation upwards to 5.13 per cent during the week ended October 18 as compared to provisional figure of only 5.01 per cent.
The final WPI stood corrected at 176.1 points during the third week of October as against the provisional mark of 175.9 points.
The index of mass consumption primary articles' group was down by 0.3 per cent to 180.7 points mainly due to a near one per cent decline in the price of food articles and minerals, even as non-food articles' prices rose by about one per cent and the index was 175.1 points a year ago.
A 12 per cent price fall in aviation turbine fuel had pushed down the index for fuel, power, light and lubricants' group to 255.1 per cent although the domestic airfares did not show any tendency to move downwards during the period under review. The index was 238.8 points a year ago.
The food articles' group index fell to 181.2 points due to cheaper mutton, and fruits and vegetables (four per cent), and bajra, fish-marine, urad, moong, gram and poultry chicken (one per cent each), while prices rose for maize and barley (two per cent each) and wheat and jowar (one per cent).
The index for non-food Articles surged to 184.5 points as prices rose for gingelly seed (seven per cent), coir fibre (four per cent), castor seed and fodder (three per cent each), soyabean (two per cent) and raw cotton, rape and mustard seed, groundnut seed and mesta (one per cent each).
However, prices fell for raw silk (nine per cent), raw wool (six per cent), copra (five per cent), safflower (four per cent) and cotton seed (one per cent).