Inflation slows down at 4.78 pc due to fuel prices

New Delhi, Sep 17: The annual rate of inflation for the week ended September 2 stood at 4.78 per cent, after crossing the five per cent mark previous week, on account of lower prices of fuels including naptha and furnace oil.

The inflation rate, calculated on point-to-point basis, stood at 3.64 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year, according to official figures.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had reiterated that despite increased prices of wheat and pulses, headline inflation will be contained between 4.5 and five per cent in the current financial year.

However, the market expectation for the inflation rate for the week ended September 2 was lower at around 4.5 per cent.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities for the week ended September 2, 2006, rose by 0.3 per cent to 206.0 from 205.3 previous week.

The index for the Primary Articles group rose by 1.4 per cent to 208.6 from 205.7 for the previous week.

The index for Food Articles group rose by 1.6 per cent to 210.4 from 207.0 for the previous week due to higher prices of fruits and vegetables (7 per cent), eggs, condiments and spices, bajra and maize (2 per cent each) and wheat, moong and gram (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of raw cotton (2 per cent) declined.

The index for Non-Food Articles group rose by 0.9 per cent to 188.3 from 186.7 for the previous week due to higher prices of logs and timber (20 per cent), raw silk (7 per cent), gingelly seed (2 per cent) and groundnut seed, linseed, raw tobacco, rape and mustard seed and castor seed (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of raw cotton (2 per cent) declined.

The index for the Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group declined by 0.5 per cent to 326.6 from 328.3 for the previous week due to lower prices of Naphtha (6 per cent) and Furnace Oil (4 per cent). However, the prices of Aviation Turbine Fuel moved up by 2 per cent.

The index for Manufactured Products group rose by 0.3 per cent to 178.2 from 177.7 for the previous week.

The index for Food Products group rose by 0.6 per cent to 181.5 from 180.4 for the previous week due to higher prices of bran (all kinds) (13 per cent), sooji (rawa) (6 per cent), atta (3 per cent), maida, oil cakes and gur (2 per cent each) and coconut oil, rape and mustard oil and khandsari (1 per cent each).

The index for Textiles group rose by 1.1 per cent to 132.9 from 131.5 for the previous week due to higher prices of texturised yarn and polyster yarn (5 per cent each), polyster staple fibre (4 per cent), hessian and sacking bags and viscose staple fibre (2 per cent each) and hessian cloth and synthetic yarn (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of nylon filament yarn (1 per cent) declined.

The index for Paper and Paper Products group rose by 0.3 per cent to 189.7 from 189.2 for the previous week due to higher prices of news paper (2 per cent).

The index for Rubber and Plastic Products group rose by 0.1 per cent to 145.2 from 145.1 for the previous week due to higher prices of cycle tyres (2 per cent).

The index for Chemicals and Chemical Products group rose by 0.1 per cent to 195.8 from 195.7 for the previous week due to higher prices of synthetic resins (7 per cent), liquid nitrogen (6 per cent) and resins (all kinds) (3 per cent).

The index for Non-Metallic Minerals Products group rose by 0.1 per cent to 188.6 from 188.5 for the previous week due to marginal rise in the prices of cement.

The index for Basic Metal Alloys and Metal Products group declines marginally to 232.2 from 232.3 for the previous week due to lower prices of zinc, basic pig iron, foundary pig iron and ms bars and rounds (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of brass sheets and strips (13 per cent) and other iron steel (2 per cent) moved up.

The index for Machinery and Machine Tools group rose by 0.3 per cent to 152.9 from 152.5 for the previous week due to higher prices of airconditioners (21 per cent), electric motors: phase three (7 per cent) and batteries (2 per cent).

UNI

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