However, the inflation rate is considerably lower compared to 5.60 per cent during the same week of 2005.
After remaining between three and four per cent for almost two months, inflation crossed four per cent during the week under review with pulses like moong, gram and urad, fruits and vegetables, manufactured products like mono block pumps and synthetic yarn turning costlier.
Expecting that inflation would be contained between four and five per cent this fiscal, Finance Minister P Chidambaramhad said in the Rajya Sabha that the immediate cause of concern for the government was increase in prices of pulses as there was a mismatch between demand and supply.
Prices of pulses as a group rose by 2.9 per cent during the week. While moong became dearer by seven per cent, gram and urad were more expensive by two per cent each and masur and arhar were costlier by one per cent each.
"The production of pulses has stagnated over the years at 14 lakh tonnes mainly because these are still grown on marginal land that is rain-fed. Only 50 per cent of the land under pulses is irrigated," Chidambaram had said.
Prices of fruits and vegetables were up by 3.2 per cent with the former becoming dearer by 4.8 per cent and the latter by 0.8 per cent.
Foodgrain became costlier by 0.9 per cent with prices of wheat rising by one per cent. To keep the price of foodgrains under check, the government has imported wheat and announced bonus to farmers to procure more grain.
Among other food products, ragi was up two per cent, while milk, mutton, barley and arhar moved up by one per cent each. However, prices of eggs declined by one per cent.
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