Higher food prices blow inflation to 5.41 pc

New Delhi, Nov 3 (UNI) Despite the government's repeated claims to curtail inflation below five per cent mark, the annual rate of inflation for the week ended Ocober 21 climbed to 5.41 per cent, higher than 5.26 per cent in previous week owing to higher food items and manufactured product prices.

The inflation rate calculated on a point-to-point basis, stood at 4.49 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year, according to official figures released here today.

Earlier, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram had expressed concern about inflation, saying rising prices were the ''most worrying signal'' in an economy.

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