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Inflation dips a wee bit to 7.8%

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October 01, 2004 19:35 IST

Inflation revised upwards to 7.91% for week ended July 24 from provisional level of 7.51%.

After a marginal increase in the previous week, inflation dipped by 0.07% to 7.80% for the week ended September 18, mainly due to cheaper food items including vegetables and fruits.

The point-to-point wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation fell from the previous week's level of 7.87% even as manufactured items, including food products, became costlier.

The inflation was 5.02% in the year-ago period.

Fuel prices were unchanged for the second week despite violent gyrations in the global markets.

The WPI moved up to 189.3 points in the week under review from 175.6 points in year-ago period.

Market experts said inflation may come down in a few weeks once the full effect of the CRR hike takes place.

The government revised upwards inflation to 7.91% for the week ended July 24 as compared to the provisional level of 7.51%.

The WPI stood corrected at 186.9 points during the last week of July as against the provisional estimate of 186.2 points.

The index of mass consumption primary articles' group was down substantially by 0.6% to 192.7 points owing to cheaper food and non-food articles. It was 180.9 points in the previous year period.

The food articles' group index fell to 188.9 points due to lower prices of poultry chicken (6%), fruits and vegetables (3%), coffee, fish-marine and jowar (2% each) and urad, wheat, tea and ragi (1% each). But prices rose for barley (3%), fish-inland (2%) and bajra and eggs (1% each).

The index for non-food articles' group was down to 195.8 points due to cheaper raw rubber (5%), hides (3%), soyabean and raw cotton (2% each). Prices, however, rose for castor seed (2%) and niger seed, raw jute and groundnut seed (1% each).

Despite rising oil prices in the international markets, the fuel, power, light and lubricants' group index stood firm at 281.6 points. The index was at 254.5 points in the year-ago period.  The index of heavy-weighted manufactured products' group was up at 167.6 points due to costlier food products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment. The index was at 156.1 points in the previous year period.  The food products' group index soared to 179.8 points due to higher prices of unblended black tea leaf (18%), oil cakes (4%), skimmed milk powder (3%), butter, solvent extracted groundnut oil, gingelly oil and salt (2% each) and canned fish and ghee (1% each). However, imported edible oil and rice bran oil became cheaper by 4% each and gur by 1%.  The index for textiles group declined to 138.2 points due to cheaper cotton knitted garments (6% decline) and synthetic yarn (5%) despite hessian cloth becoming costlier by 1%.  The chemicals and chemical products' group index was up to 181.6 points owing to higher prices of phenol (14%) and purified terephthalic acid (10%) while varnishes became cheaper by 1%.  The index for basic metals alloys and metal products' group fell to 205 points due to lower prices of zinc ingots (5%), other iron steel (4%) MS bars and rounds (2%) and zinc (1%cent), but lead ingot prices moved up by 3%.  The machinery and machine tools' group index rose to 139.3 points due to higher prices of complete engines (12%) and fluorescent tubes (3%) even as roller bearings and powerlooms automatic became cheaper by 2% and 1%, respectively.  The index for transport equipment and parts' group rose to 154.4 points due to 6% hike in the price of mopeds.  In line with the wholesale price level, inflation based on consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) rose to 4.61% in August due to costlier food items and kerosene.
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