Food inflation eases to 9.47% for week ended September 3

New Delhi, Sep 15: Food inflation declined marginally but was still high at 9.47 per cent for the week ended September 3, with prices of all items, barring pulses and wheat, rising on an annual basis.

Food inflation, as measured on the basis of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 9.55 per cent in the previous week. The rate of price rise of food items was 15.16 per cent in the corresponding week of 2010.

As per data released by the government today, prices of pulses fell by 2.45 per cent year-on-year, while wheat became cheaper by 2.03 per cent during the week ended September 3.

However, other food items became more expensive during the week under review. Onions grew dearer by 42.98 per cent on an annual basis, while potato prices were up 21.16 per cent.

Furthermore, fruits became 22.64 per cent more expensive during the week ended September 3 and overall, prices of vegetables shot up by 17.47 per cent.

In addition, milk became 10.02 per cent costlier, while the rates for cereals were up by 5.02 per cent during the seven-day period under review.

The fall in food inflation could be attributed to a moderation in the rate of price rise of some of the items on a week-on-week basis, even though they remained higher on an annual basis.

The decline could also be attributed to the high inflation of over 15 per cent in the corresponding year-ago period, a phenomenon dubbed the ''high base effect'' in economic parlance.

Overall, inflation in primary articles was recorded at 13.04 per cent during the week ended September 3, down from 13.34 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles account for over 20 per cent of wholesale price index inflation.

PTI