Inflation rises to 3.24 to 3.55 pc

Mumbai, May 01 (UNI) Inflation rose to 3.55 per cent for the week ended April 15, from 3.24 per cent in the previous week mainly due to costlier manufactured and non-food items.

Wholesale prices rose by 3.55 per cent as besides manufactured and non-food items, aviation fuel also became costlier; but inflation was lower than 5.91 per cent in the year ago period, according to a data released by the Government.

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was up by 0.5 per cent to 198.5 points and it was 191.7 points a year ago.

Government revised the inflation figure downward to 4.13 per cent for the week ended February 18 from provisional 4.34 per cent and WPI stood corrected at 196.7 points from earlier estimate of 197.1 points.

Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has estimated inflation to average 5-5.5 per cent in 2006-07, but has also acknowledged the threat to prices from high global crude oil prices hovering at about 70 dollars a barrel now.

Primary Articles group index declined by 0.4 per cent to 194.3 points due to fall in prices of food articles while non-food items became costlier. The index was 188 points in the year ago period.

Food Articles group index was down by 0.6 per cent to 196.7 points due to lower prices of poultry chicken, (6 per cent), wheat and barley (4 per cent each), fruits and vegetables and bajra (2 per cent each). However, prices moved up for fish-marine (6 per cent), moong and eggs (4 per cent each) and maize and gram (1 per cent each).

The index for Non-Food Articles group rose by 0.8 per cent to 176.6 points owing to higher prices of sunflower (6 per cent), raw rubber (5 per cent), raw cotton (2 per cent), and groundnut seed, castor seed and niger seed (1 per cent each).

But, there was one per cent fall in prices of linseed, rape and mustard seed, soyabean, cotton seed, raw jute and mesta.

Minerals group index fell by 0.4 per cent to 342.7 points due to lower prices of steatite (8 per cent), iron ore (5 per cent), magnesite (4 per cent) and China clay (1 per cent), but fluorite became costlier by 2 per cent.

Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group index rose marginally to 316.8 points due to 3 per cent increase in prices of aviation turbine fuel and the index was 293.2 points a year ago.

Manufactured Products group index rose by 0.9 per cent to 173.5 points owing to increase in prices of food, textiles, chemicals, non-metallic minerals, basic metals and machinery. The index was 170.4 points in the year ago period.

UNI SN PP AW1558