Prices rise due to costlier fuel

Costlier petrol, diesel and LPG pushed up inflation to 7.76 per cent during the week ended November 6 amid fears that it could rise further in the coming weeks after the full effect of the second round of price hike in petro products during the period.

According to market sources, the price hike in petroleum products effected from midnight of November 4 could have far reaching consquences due to delayed direct and indirect linkage of petroleum products' price hike, especially that of diesel, which forms the bulk of transportation costs.

As per the WPI data, there was nine per cent increase in the price of diesel, eight per cent for LPG and six per cent in petrol during the latest reported week.

Economic thinktank IEG had cautioned that recent hike in petro-prices might lead to "spin-off" effects on the other commodities' prices in the coming months.

During the week in review, international oil markets saw volatility with prices once falling below $49 and to later hover around $50.

The government revised the point-to-point inflation to 8.15 per cent for the week ended September 11 as against the provisional 7.87 per cent.

The WPI stood corrected at 189.7 points during the second week of September as compared to provisional figure of 189.2 points.