A sharp rise in prices of fruits, vegetables and other primary items, notably poultry chicken, and costlier manufactured products pushed up inflation by 0.10 per cent to 5.94 per cent for the week ended February 21.
The point-to-point price change, as measured by wholesale price index, rose from the previous week's level of 5.84 per cent even as prices fell for textiles and condiments and spices. The index was at 5.53 per cent in the year-ago period.
The present movement of commodity prices is contrary to the expectations of the government and Reserve Bank of India, which hoped to rein in inflation at 4-4.5 per cent by the end of the current fiscal.
The WPI was up by 0.3 per cent to 180 points during the latest reported week despite fuel price remaining firm for the fourth consecutive week and it was at 169.9 points in the same period of 2002-03.
The government revised upwards the inflation rate during the week ended December 27 to 5.86 per cent as compared to the provisional level of 5.75 per cent.
The final WPI stood corrected at 176.9 points during the last week of December as against the provisional figure of 176.7 points.
"The present (latest reported provisional) movement of inflation is rather erratic and is also a misnomer for the interest rate movements," said one dealer in the debt markets.