Inflation rose to 4.62 per cent during the week ended October 8 from 4.24 per cent a week ago, mainly due to hike in prices of essential food items and manufactured products.

Though point-to-point inflation based on wholesale product prices moved up marginally, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said inflation was "moderate" and not on the upswing.

Festival demands and seasonal factors may have led to rise in inflation to 4.62 per cent for the week, although it was still lower than 7.10 per cent a year ago.

Wholesale Price Index rose by 0.2 per cent to 197.2 points during the week from 188.5 a year ago.

During the week under review, world oil prices hovered around $61 a barrel after steep recent falls caused by signs that the high cost of crude is cooling demand for energy in the United States, the world's biggest energy consumer.

Oil prices rocketed to all-time peaks at the end of August, touching $70.85 on supply concerns as Katrina tore through oil rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico, severely disrupting US energy production.