Inflation rises to 4.13 pc

NEW DELHI, OCT 19: Reflecting the rise in the prices of petroleum products, India's year-on-year inflation rate measured by the Wholesale P...

NEW DELHI, OCT 19: Reflecting the rise in the prices of petroleum products, India’s year-on-year inflation rate measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rose to 4.13 per cent in the week ended October 4 from 3.78 per cent in the previous week, the Industry Ministry said on Sunday.

The recent 0.35 per cent increase in the inflation rate was mainly due to buoyancy in the prices of fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, soyabeans, grinding wheels, asbestos cement corrugated sheets and steel files.

However, the prices of fish, raw rubber, carbon tools and high speed steel saw a downward trend in their prices during the week under review. The inflation rate was ruling above the six per cent mark at 6.52 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

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It had been reigning in the single digit for 132 weeks in a row since April 1, 1995 pushing aside the old record of 1993 when the inflation rate ruled in the single digit level for 52 weeks in succession.

The inflation had witnessed a 11-year low of 3.75 per cent twice in six weeks before going up marginally to 3.78 per cent. The hike in prices of petroleum products on September 1 by the government saw a 0.39 per cent rise to 4.2 per cent on September 6. The maximum decline in the inflation rate in the current fiscal was witnessed on July 5 when it dropped sharply by 1.21 per cent to 4.7 per cent.y