Date:03/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/03/stories/2006060300151200.htm

Back Inflation up on costlier food, energy prices

Our Bureau

Wholesale Price Index increases to 201.1 points

At a glance
Spurt in prices of tea, poultry chicken, fish and vegetables.
Prices for sunflower, copra, raw cotton, niger declined.
Minerals group index rose 4.4 per cent on higher stearite, barites and iron ore prices.

New Delhi , June 2

The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.74 per cent during the week ended May 20, higher than the previous week's annual rise of 4.32 per cent. The increase in the year-on-year inflation rate was mainly on account of higher food, energy and manufactured product prices, according to data released here today by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The wholesale price index (WPI) ended the latest reported week at 201.1 points. The index was at 192 points during the same period a year ago. The inflation rate was 5.38 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year.

Furnace oil dips

On a disaggregated basis, the index for the Primary Articles group was up 1.2 per cent at 199.7 points due to increase in prices of food, non-food and minerals. The index was at 188.3 points a year ago. The Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group index fell marginally to 319.7 points due to a one per cent fall in prices of furnace oil. The index was at 293 points a year ago. The Manufactured Products' group index was up 0.1 per cent to 175.1 points due to costlier food, basic metals, machinery and transport parts. The index was at 170.7 points during the corresponding period of the last year.

Tea prices spurt

Among the Primary Articles' group, the Food Articles group index rose 1.4 per cent due to spurt in prices of tea (27 per cent), poultry chicken (8 per cent), fish-marine (4 per cent), vegetables and bajra (3 per cent each), milk (2 per cent), fruits, barley, gram, pork and jowar (1 per cent each). The index for Non-Food Articles group was up 0.2 per cent to 176.8 points due to higher prices of raw rubber (3 per cent), groundnut seed (2 per cent) and raw jute (1 per cent). But, prices declined for sunflower (3 per cent), copra, raw cotton and niger seed (1 per cent each).

The Minerals group index was up by 4.4 per cent to 357.7 points due to a sharp increase in prices of stearite (16 per cent), barytes (10 per cent) and iron ore (5 per cent), even as magnesite became cheaper by 8 per cent.

Biscuits cheaper

Among the Manufactured Products' group, the Food Products group index was up 0.1 per cent to 178.2 points due to higher prices of oil cakes, rice bran oil and groundnut oil (1 per cent each). However, prices fell for biscuits (4 per cent), gur (2 per cent) and coconut oil and imported edible oil (1 per cent) each.

The Chemicals and Chemical Products group index was down 0.1 per cent to 192.4 points due to lower prices of organic pigments (7 per cent) and trimethoprim (1 per cent). The Base Metals Alloys and Metal Products group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 221.5 points due to higher prices of pipes and tubes (4 per cent). However, prices declined for other iron steel, basic pig iron and foundary pig iron (1 per cent each).

The Machinery and Machine Tools group index was up 0.3 per cent to 151 points due to increase in prices of valve (14 per cent), other pumps (3 per cent) and mono block pumps and power driven pumps (1 per cent each).

The Transport Equipment and Parts group index increased by 0.4 per cent to 160.8 points due to higher prices of body manufactured for trucks and vans (8 per cent) and diesel bus chassis (1 per cent).

The Government revised upward the final inflation to 4.06 per cent for the week ended March 25 from provisional 3.96 per cent, while the WPI stood corrected at 197.2 points as against the earlier estimate of 197 points.