Food Inflation closed to Double-digit Mark at 9.13% for the week ended 17 September 2011

As per Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released by the Commerce Ministry on 29 September 2011, food inflation moved closer to the double-digit mark at 9.13% for the week ended 17 September 2011. Rising prices of essential kitchen items like potato and pulses pushed the prices up in the week. Food inflation, as measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), was 8.84% in the week ended 10 September 2011. In the week ended 10 September food inflation had declined to 8.84% from 9.47% in the previous week.

 As per the commerce ministry data, prices of onions eased marginally, while gram, masoor, arhar, urad and poultry rates firmed up, on an annual basis.

As per the WPI data, inflation in eggs, meat and fish eased to 13.17% during the week ended 17 September 2011 as against 28.7%, year-on-year. While onion prices was down to 17% from 22% last year, potato prices rose 15%.

While prices of onions eased marginally during the week, gram, masoor, arhar, urad and poultry rates firmed up on an annual basis, as per Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data.

Potato prices moved up by about 15% on an annual basis.

However, as a whole, inflation in the fruit and vegetable segments eased during the week ended 17 September vis-a-vis the same period in 2010.

Overall, inflation in primary articles stood at 11.43% for the week ending 17 September compared to 12.17% in the previous week. Primary articles constitute over 20% of the WPI basket.

Non-food articles, which include fibres, oil seeds and minerals, recorded 12.89% inflation during the week ended 17 September down from 17.42% in the previous week.

Meanwhile, inflation in the fuel and power segment went up to 14.69% during the week ended 17 September from 13.96% in the week ended 10 September.

Headline inflation, which factors in manufactured items, fuels and non-food primary items, in addition of 9.78% to food commodities, stood at a 13-month high in August 2011.