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Inflation inches up to 12.63%

NEW DELHI: Inflation inched up further to 12.63 per cent for the week ended August 9 from 12.44 per cent in the previous week, mainly on account of unabated rise in the prices of food items such as fruits, vegetables, milk, pulses and certain manufactured products.

With this, the wholesale price index-based inflation, which was at 4.24 per cent during the same week a year ago, appears to be creeping up to the 13 per cent mark, as projected by the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council in its economic outlook for the current fiscal.

A silver lining, however, is the softening crude oil prices in the international market in recent days which is expected to douse inflationary expectations if the downtrend persists, and thereby help the authorities in cooling prices.

During the week, even as prices of imported edible oils fell by six per cent and sunflower oil by two per cent, mustard oil was costlier by one per cent.

Among other food items, tea was dearer by two per cent while the prices of milk and pulses were up by a per cent each. Also fuelling the inflation rate were cotton yarn and polyester, which were costlier by eight and seven per cent respectively.

Analysing the WPI data, the Finance Ministry, in a statement, said: “Inflation rate for 30 essential commodities stood at 6.74 per cent for the week ending August 9, 2008 compared to 6.54 per cent in the previous week. Annual inflation of the 30 essential commodities however continued to be range bound between 5.7 to 6.7 per cent in 19 weeks of the current fiscal year.”

Meanwhile, the annual rate of inflation for the week ended June 14 has been revised from the provisional estimate of 11.42 to 11.80 per cent.

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