The inflation fell marginally to 4.40 per cent for the week ended April 3 despite a whopping 20 per cent rise in vegetable prices and a substantial hike in the prices of fruits, milk and fuels for industries.
The point-to-point wholesale price index inflation fell by 0.07 per cent in the first week of this financial year from the previous week's level of 4.47 per cent. It was as high as 6.66 per cent in the year-ago period.
WPI was up by 0.3 per cent to 180.5 points mainly due to surging prices of primary items like fruits and vegetables, and fuels including furnace oil and bitumen, even as heavy-weighted manufactured products' prices remained firm.
The index was at 172.9 points in the previous year period.
The government revised upwards inflation to 6.15 per cent for the week ended February seven as compared to the provisional level of 5.91 per cent.
The final WPI stood corrected at 179.6 points in the first week of February against the provisional figure of 179.2 points.
The index of primary articles' group shot up over one per cent to 183.4 points due to costlier food articles. It was at 179.1 points in the year-ago period.
Food articles' group index surged by about two per cent to 182.6 points as prices rose for vegetables (20 per cent), poultry chicken (15 per cent), fruits (4 per cent), gram (2 per cent) and bajra and milk (1 per cent each).
However, prices declined in the case of condiments and spices (3 per cent), wheat and eggs (2 per cent) and mutton, arhar, maize, masur and barley (1 per cent each).
The index of non-food articles' group declined by 0.2 per cent to 190.5 points due to lower prices for copra, castor seed and groundnut seed (2 per cent each).