Though inflation fell to 7.06 per cent for the week ended October 30, little respite is expected as the impact of the recent steep hike in the prices of petrol, diesel and LPG is yet to make its impact on the inflation front. Further, during the week under review, prices of primary articles, including vegetables, shot up. The point-to-point WPI inflation fell from 7.38 per cent in the previous week. It was 5.55 per cent in the year-ago period. The WPI was up by 0.2 per cent at 189.5 points during the week in review owing to substantial to marginal hike in prices of primary and manufactured items, even as fuel prices stood unchanged. The government revised inflation upwards to 8.15 per cent during the week ended September 4 as against the provisional estimate of 7.81 per cent. The final WPI stood corrected at 189.7 points during the first week of September as compared to the provisional figure of 189.1 points.Primary articles’ group index rose by 0.6 per cent to 192.9 points due to a sharper one per cent hike in the price of food articles, while non-food items became cheaper; the index was 184.7 points in the year-ago period.The index for food articles’ group shot up to 191.9 points. Non-food articles’ group index fell marginally by 0.3 per cent to 187.1 points. The index of fuel, power, light and lubricants’ group remained unchanged at the previous week’s level of 282.3 points.The heavy-weighted manufactured products’ group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 167.6 points due to costlier food products, paper, leather, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment. Food products’ group index increased by 0.6 per cent to 177.5 points.
