Inflation further falls to 3.23%

New Delhi, Sept 28 (UNI) Country's annual inflation rate has further slipped to a 15th week low at 3.23 per cent for the week ended September 15, against the previous week's 3.32 per cent due to fall in prices of some food articles.

The annual inflation rate was 5.27 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year, an official statement said here today.

This is the fifth straight week that inflation has been below 4 per cent and the 15th week it has been under 5 per cent, the Reserve Bank of India's target for the financial year 2007-08.

The wholesale price index (WPI) for all commodities for the week ended September 15 declined by 0.1 per cent to 214.4 from 214.7 for the previous week.

The index for primary food articles declined by 0.7 per cent to 226.4 from 227.9 for the previous week.

The index for the food articles group declined by 1.1 per cent to 225.7 from 228.2 for the previous week due to lower prices of fish-marine and fish-inland (11 per cent each), eggs (5 per cent), fruits and vegetables (2 per cent) and moong, urad and maize (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of poultry chicken (5 per cent), mutton (2 per cent) and masur (1 per cent) moved up.

The index for non-food articles group rose by 0.4 per cent to 211.4 from 210.6 for the previous week due to higher prices of gingelly seed (4 per cent) and raw cotton, soyabean, raw tobacco and rape and mustard seed (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of copra (3 per cent) and castor seed, fodder and raw rubber (1 per centeach) declined.

The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants group rose by 0.1 per cent to 322.0 from 321.7 for the previous week due to higher prices of furnace oil (2 per cent).

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