Inflation dips to 5%

Inflation fell for the tenth consecutive week to 5.01 per cent in the week ended February 5, touching the lowest level after the UPA came into power, due to cheaper vegetables, fruits and edible oils.

Reflecting the "measured" steps taken by the Centre and RBI, the widely tracked point-to-point Wholesale Price Index inflation touched 10-months low falling by 0.24 per cent from the previous week's level of 5.25 per cent and it was as high as 6.15 per cent in the year ago period.

The WPI, however, rose by 0.1 per cent to 188.6 points mainly due to costlier fuel products, even as primary items became cheaper while manufactured products' prices remained unchanged.

The index was 179.6 points in the previous year period.