The Union petroleum ministry has proposed a 44 per cent increase in prices of natural gas sold under the administered price mechanism by state-owned Oil & Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Ltd.
The inflation rate has been falling at a steady pace, after peaking at 12.83 per cent for the week ended August 16, 2008, mainly due to declining commodity prices. However, on a week-on-week basis, the WPI rose marginally by 0.04 per cent, due to increase in prices of certain articles, including food products like fruit and vegetables, condiments and spices as well as some processed food items.
Food inflation softened to 18.22 per cent as of the week ended December 26, although potato and pulses continued to cost high. The wholesale price based inflation was 19.83 per cent in the previous week.
While bank credit growth seems to be showing signs of revival, deposits could soon emerge as the new area of concern for bankers.
To be out by October, it reflects weight of components in GDP.
With the advancement of the base year and probably a revision of commodities in the index and their weights, it is expected that the index would provide a better picture of the current scenario of prices. The finance minister said information on weekly prices of manufactured products is highly meagre.
According to government estimates, in early December, potato prices had increased 136 per cent, sugar prices doubled and pulses zoomed by over 40 per cent compared to the previous year.
Inflation for the month of August stood at 8.51 per cent, according to the new Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) series.
Data released on Thursday showed prices of essential commodities like cereals went up by 12.7 per cent, rice by 11.75 per cent, wheat 12.6 per cent and pulses rose by 42 per cent.
India's wholesale price index, the inflation measure most widely followed by policy-makers and investors, does not need another revision after the release of the final number eight weeks after the provisional numbers, as more than three-fourths data are collected by then, Pronab Sen, chief statistician, Ministry of Statistics has said.
Wholesale price-based inflation fell to single digit at 9.97 per cent in July, owing to decline in prices of certain food and non-food items.
Slight recovery in growth is expected only in July-September.
The wholesale price of apple grown in Himachal Pradesh has declined to Rs 1,000-1,100 a box of 20 kg this year, against Rs 1,600-1,700 a box last year.
Inflation rose to 5.3% for the week ended November 4 from 5.09% in the previous week mainly due to increase in the prices of food and manufactured items.
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Indian economy is seeing signs of upward momentum helped by gradual reduction of inflationary pressure though the country's growth still remains "relatively weak", according to Paris-based think tank OECD.
The wholesale prices of food items surged by 15 per cent during the week ended on September 26 against the same period last year, the government's inflation data shows.
The wholesale price-based inflation stood at 12.13 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago.
Investors' confidence has been revived in recent weeks on the likelihood the elections will usher in a new government.
With inflation turning positive after 13 weeks, the Reserve Bank on Thursday said the wholesale price index may rise to six per cent by this fiscal end a development that may pose challenges to the central bank in maintaining a stable monetary policy.
Inflation has moved into positive territory for the first time since May 30. The inflation has gone up to 0.12 per cent for the week ended September 5.
Inflation turned negative for the first time in the week ending June 6. Inflation in the corresponding week last year was 12.38 per cent.
Over 300 new items such as mobile phones and digital cameras would figure in the new wholesale price index that would give a better picture of the price situation. And close to 30 items would be knocked off from the new inflation series expected to be out by December.
The wholesale price index-based inflation remained negative for the 12th consecutive week primarily on high base. Inflation turned negative for the first time in the week ending June 6.
The wholesale price index during the corresponding week a year ago was as high as 12.91 per cent, while in the previous week, it stood at (-) 1.58 per cent. During the week, prices of barley, jowar and gram rose by two per cent and condiments and spices, arhar and fruits and vegetables by one per cent each.
The report said that weak global growth prospects have kept company prices in check in the international market and the same sentiments were being reflected in the domestic market. According to CMIE, prices of basic metal and metal products are projected to decline by 10.5 per cent in the current fiscal.
Since March 2020, WPI food inflation rate continued to fall but the CPI-food inflation rose, signaling a breakdown in supply chain from the mandis to the final household.
The Central bank primarily factors Consumer Price Index while deciding on policy rate.
The prices of food items like mutton rose by 14 per cent, arhar by 9 per cent, gram by 4 per cent, fruit and vegetables by 2 per cent during the week. However, a major decline was registered in mineral index, as prices fell by 16.8 per cent mainly due to softening iron ore prices by 24 per cent and felspar by 3 per cent.
Inflation rose to (-)1.17 per cent for the week ended July 11 compared to (-)1.21 per cent in the previous week as food articles like pulses, cereals, fruits and vegetables turned expensive.
The industry department had planned to get 10,000 price quotations from producers in order to have a new-look WPI, which incorporates a better snapshot of the economy. Out of this, 8,000 products are manufactured items. However, it now emerges that the DIPP may get price quotations from only 6,400 industrial units and factories.
Inflation has risen to -1.21 per cent for the week ended July 4 against -1.55 per cent the previous week.
While existing investments pipelines are on course, newer projects, which are at conceptual stage, may be affected; companies are concerned that high inflation (the wholesale price index is above 12.6 per cent, a 16-year high) and high interest rates would dampen consumer demand growth, Confederation of Indian Industry President K V Kamath said after a meeting of industry leaders with Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
Wholesale price-based inflation remained below the psychological two-digit scores inching up marginally to 9.9 per cent in March from 9.89 per cent in the previous month.
The inflation which hit a high of 13 per cent in August following spike in prices of petroleum products in the international market, has been on the decline since the outbreak of the global financial crisis in mid-September last year.
'90 per cent of the food and grocery business is still with the kiranas.' 'If kiranas are not allowed to operate, it becomes a serious issue.'
The rate of inflation for the week stood\nat minus 1.14 per cent as against minus 1.61 per cent for the week ended June 6,\nofficial data released in New Delhi on Thursday.
This is the second week in a row when inflation remained in negative territory. The wholesale price index stood at 11.80 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago.
"This year (2009-10), our WPI is low and I don't see any problem on the horizon which could destabilise us except oil prices which remain a question," said Rajya Sabha MP and former Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan. On the high fiscal deficit, Jalan said he did not think stimulus packages posed a problem. On taxation, he said it would not be good for the country not to have a reasonable rate of tax on profit and dividend.
While the wholesale price index stood at 0.48 per cent in the previous week, the rate of price rise was 9.32 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago. During the week, the prices of eggs went up by 11 per cent, mutton 3 per cent, and fruit and vegetables and spices 2 per cent each.
Wholesale price-based inflation stood at 8.90 per cent in the corresponding week a year ago. During the week, the prices of the maize, arhar, spices and fruit went up while ragi and barley declined.
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