Households continued to bear the brunt of increased cost of living with inflation rising by 0.35 per cent to 7.96 per cent for week ended August 7, mainly due to costlier vegetables, petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel.

The point-to-point Wholesale Price Index inflation rose from the previous week's level of 7.61 per cent with all major indices of primary, fuel and manufactured items going up.

It stood at a mere 3.89 per cent during the same period last year.

The WPI rose by 0.3 per cent to 186.6 points due to the impact of price rise of petrol and diesel. The index was 173.4 points a year ago.

During the latest reported week, ATF prices went up by 11 per cent, diesel by five per cent and petrol by two per cent.

Analysts say the price hike, especially for diesel, would have a cascading effect for some more time.

During the week under review, oil prices in global markets ruled at over $44 a barrel due to capacity constraints since Organization of the Petroleum Producing Countries and other producers had limited capacity to compensate for disruptions in supply and Russia withdrawing a promised financial lifeline for oil titan Yukos.

The crude prices also soared due to terror threats to oil pipelines in the Middle East, potential disruption in exports from Russia, Nigeria and Venezuela, along with the oil cartel saying it could not immediately increase supplies.

Besides, growing demand in India, China and the US also strained the producers.

Government revised upwards inflation to 6.58 per cent for the week ended June 12 as compared to the provisional figure of 5.89 per cent.

The final WPI stood corrected at 184.6 points during the second week of June as against 183.4 points.

The index of Primary Articles' group rose marginally by 0.1 per cent to 191.8 points due to surging prices of food articles. The index was 179.7 points in the previous year period.

Food Articles' index was up 0.2 per cent to 187 points owing to costlier poultry chicken (three per cent), eggs and masur (two per cent each) and fruits and vegetables, moong and bajra (one per cent each).

However, prices declined in the case of fish-inland (three per cent) and condiments and spices (two per cent).

The index of Non-Food Articles' fell by 0.2 per cent to 195 points due to fall in prices of raw wool (six per cent), raw jute (three per cent), castor seed (two per cent) and raw cotton (one per cent).

But prices increased for raw silk (six per cent), fodder and copra (two per cent each) and tobacco, cotton seed, rapeseed and mustard seed and groundnut seed (one per cent each).

Fuel, power, light and lubricants' group index shot up by 1.5 per cent to 278.5 points with increasing prices of light speed diesel oil (nine per cent) and naphtha (five per cent), apart from costlier petrol, diesel and ATF.

The heavy-weighted Manufactured Products' group index was up marginally by 0.1 per cent to 165.3 points even as food products became cheaper, while prices of tobacco, textiles, wood, paper, chemicals, basic metals and machinery went up.