Costlier cement, fuel, veg drive inflation to 6.46pc

New Delhi, Mar 18: The headline inflation rate rose to 6.46 per cent for the week ended March 3, from 6.10 per cent in the previous week due to costlier fuel and some food and manufactured products.

Though the prices of poultry chicken, tea, arhar, urad, wheat and gram declined, fish-marine and fruits and vegetables maintained an upward trend.

Dearer naphtha, aviation turbine fuel, cement, zinc, pipes and steel sheets, plates and rubber also drove the inflation by 0.36 per cent.

The annual inflation rate calculated on a point-to-point basis was 3.86 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said it would take all possible monetary measures to keep the price rise under control.

''RBI would take all possible monetary actions to maintain price stability and will respond swiftly to bring down inflation,'' RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan told an investors' seminar in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities for the week ended March 3, rose by 0.2 per cent to 209.2 from 208.8 for the previous week.

The index for the Primary Articles group rose by 0.1 per cent to 214.2 from 213.9 for the previous week.

The index for Food Articles group declined marginally to 214.5 from 214.6 for the previous week due to lower prices of poultry chicken (14 per cent), tea (10 per cent), urad (6 per cent), condiments and spices (4 per cent), arhar, bajra and jowar (2 per cent each) and ragi, wheat and gram (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of fish-marine (9 per cent), fruits and vegetables (2 per cent) and maize (1 per cent) moved up.

The index for Non-Food articles group rose by 0.6 per cent to 197.4 from 196.3 for the previous week due to higher prices of groundnut seed and gingelly seed (3 per cent each) and sunflower and cotton seed (1 per cent each).

However, the prices of copra (6 per cent) and raw rubber (1 per cent) declined.

The index for Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants rose by 0.2 per cent to 319.5 from 318.9 for the previous week due to higher prices of naphtha (3 per cent), bitumen, aviation turbine fuel and furnace oil (2 per cent each). The index for Manufactured Products group rose by 0.2 per cent to 182.9 from 182.5 for the previous week.

The index for Food Products group rose by 0.2 per cent to 184.0 from 183.7 for the previous week due to higher prices of rice bran oil (4 per cent), oil cakes (3 per cent), atta (2 per cent) and sooji (rawa) (1 per cent).

However, the prices of coconut oil (3 per cent), khandsari and bran (all kinds) (2 per cent each) and sugar (1 per cent) declined.

The index for Textiles group declined by 0.3 per cent to 133.2 from 133.6 for the previous week due to lower prices of polyster yarn (4 per cent), hessian cloth (3 per cent) and texturised yarn (2 per cent).

The index for Chemicals and Chemicals Products group declined by 0.1 per cent to 197.1 from 197.2 for the previous week due to lower prices of purified terephthalic acid (3 per cent) and acid (all kinds) (1 per cent).

However, the prices of pvc resins (2 per cent) and bopp film (1 per cent) moved up.

The index for Non-Metallic Mineral Products group rose by 3.1 per cent to 241.7 from 195.6 for the previous week due to higher prices of cement (4 per cent).

The index for Basic Metal Alloys and Metal Products group rose by 0.3 per cent to 201.7 from 240.9 for the previous week due to higher prices of zinc (10 per cent), zinc ingots, lead ingots, pipes and tubes and steel sheets, plates and strips (2 per cent each) and basic pig iron, foundary pig iron, ms bars and rounds and other iron steel (1 per cent each).

The index for Machinery and machine Tools group rose by 0.7 per cent to 162.5 from 161.4 for the previous week due to higher prices of rubber insulated cables (21 per cent), other cables (12 per cent), enamelled copper wires (2 per cent) and pvc insulated cables and ceiling fans (1 per cent each).

UNI