Inflation declines to 3.65 per cent for the week ended December 8, compared to 3.75 per cent in the previous week, mainly due to fall in prices of food articles and some manufactured items. The wholesale price index-based inflation stood at 5.63 per cent in the corresponding week a year ago.
Food inflation, as measured by Wholesale Price Index, stood at 9.13 per cent in the previous week.
Meanwhile, inflation of non-food articles was at 15.50 per cent for the week ended July 9, compared to 15.20 per cent in the previous week.
As per the official data released on Monday, inflation in food items was 9.94 per cent in March, as against 6.07 per cent in February.
On an annual basis, prices of food articles went up by 8.19 per cent in July, which is lower than the 8.38 per cent inflation recorded in June.
The wholesale price index, coming below four per cent, may prompt the Reserve Bank of India to cut key policy rates. An indication was made by the RBI Governor D Subbarao in Tokyo on Wednesday. During the week, prices of manufactured items such as sugar, imported edible oil and textile items such as cotton yarn got cheaper.
Headline inflation rose to 9.44 per cent in June on the back of rising prices of fuel and manufactured products, which may prompt the Reserve Bank to raise key rates again in its quarterly policy review later this month.
'If you see the composition of items which are causing this spike in prices, most of them have little to do with the kharif harvest, except for pulses and vegetables to some extent.' 'I don't know on what basis the government is claiming that food prices will moderate in the weeks to come.'
The rate of price rise in food items, as calculated on the basis of the wholesale price index, was 8.53 per cent in the previous week and 21.46 per cent in the comparable period of 2010.
As per data released by the government on Thursday, pulses became over 9 per cent cheaper year-on-year during the period under review.
Wholesale Price Index for the month ended March moderated to 3-year low of 5.96 per cent against Reserve Bank's projection of 6.8 per cent.
Reversing its upward trend, inflation fell to a two-year low of 4.07 per cent in the week ended July 23 due to cheaper food products even as prices shot up for minerals, including iron ore
Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) stood at 6.84 per cent in February. In March, 2012, it was 7.69 per cent.
Inflation fell to a 31-week low of 5.6 per cent for the week ended January 8 despite a hike in prices of fuel, vegetables, non-food and manufactured products.
Inflation based on the wholesale-price-index remained unchanged at 6.46 per cent for the week ended March 17 when compared to the week before. In fact, inflation is now unchanged for the last three weeks.
The latest numbers are the highest level of food inflation since the week ended March 26 when it had stood at 9.18 per cent.
This is the lowest rate of price rise in food items in the last 18 months, when separate data for food inflation first started coming in.
Inflation rose to 5.91 per cent during the week ended April 23 as vegetables, fruits, edible oil, industrial fuel and manufactured products became costlier.
This lack of regular and detailed disclosure by companies or respondents lies at the core of the problem, one that has gained ground in recent weeks.
The rise in overall inflation for the second month in a row may prompt the central bank to go for another round of policy rate hikes in its policy review meeting, scheduled for May 3.
Overall inflation rose marginally to 8.31 per cent in February, 2011, from 8.23 per cent in the previous month.
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.
Inflation fell for the second consecutive week to 7.02 per cent for the week ended December 4, mainly due to cheaper primary and fuel products.
Benchmark 10-year bond yields hit a 13-month peak as bond traders priced in more aggressive monetary easing next year.
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.
During the week, prices of steel, condiments and spices, marine fish and fruits and vegetables escalated. Among the manufactured items, prices of aluminium, locomotives and railway wagons increased while the prices of iron and steel declined.
The widely-tracked wholesale price index (WPI), the cause of severe political pangs for the government every Friday, will be released on a monthly basis by the end of this year instead of weekly. In effect, instead of witnessing the release of inflation data for 52 consecutive weeks, the data will be made available only a dozen times a year.
Food inflation surged to a four-and-a-half month high of 9.90 per cent during the week ended July 30 on the back of costlier onions, fruits, vegetables and protein-based items.
Falling core inflation on the back of slowing economic growth is likely to create space for the Reserve Bank to ease monetary policy in the early part of the next year, rating agency Crisil said.
The hardening of the Wholesale Price Index follows an uptick in retail inflation.
With the average WPI-based inflation at 7.5% and CPI-based one above 10%, a bit of aggression is required to beat inflation. Four experts give their views.
Food inflation inched up to 17.40 per cent for the week ended January 16 on account of high prices of potato and pulses. The wholesale price-based food inflation was 16.81 per cent in the previous week. Potato prices rose as much as 57.56 per cent over the last year, followed by prices of pulses which jumped by 46.87 per cent.
However, some analysts say RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan may delay the rate cuts amid mounting concerns over the government's fiscal health.
The bank is due to review the monetary policy on July 30.
Inflation fell marginally to 3.01 per cent in the week ended August 27 from 3.08 per cent a week ago, despite rise in prices of food, aviation fuel and manufactured items.
CRISIL also expects the average Wholesale Price Index inflation to be higher at around 8 per cent as against of 7 per cent estimated earlier.
The price difference between branded tea and loose tea has narrowed to a mere 5 per cent, helping the consumer to opt for branded labels. According to Bloomberg, the wholesale price index for tea in India gained 74 basis points from 128.30 in January to 222.50 at end of October this year. As a consequence, tea manufacturers in the wholesale and loose tea business, besides branded tea players, have increased prices.
Central bank should raise key policy rates again but avoid becoming a prisoner of its own making.
Noting that India's inflation record was 'much, much better' against emerging economies, Basu said inflation should go down from September and as per expectations and calculations of the Finance Ministry, it will go below seven per cent from September.
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