Food Inflation dropped to 1.81% during the Week ended 10 December indicating Easing of Prices

According to official data released here on 22 December 2011, food inflation dropped sharply to an almost four-year low of 1.81 per cent during the week ended 10 December indicating an overall easing of prices. It stood at 4.35 per cent in the week ended 3 December. The fall was attributed to decline in prices of essential commodities such as onion and potato.

The food inflation figure for the week ended 10 December  are the lowest since the week ended 9 February 2008, when it stood at 2.26 per cent.

The sharp moderation in food inflation was largely because of a 26.4% drop in vegetable prices, notably staple items such as onions, potatoes and tomatoes.

Onion became cheaper by 49.38 per cent year-on-year during the week under review, while potato prices were down by 34.39 per cent. Prices of wheat also fell by 4.21 per cent. Overall, vegetables became cheaper by 26.37 percent. Milk was dearer by 11.19 per cent and eggs, meat and fish by 9.25 per cent. Pulses became costlier by 14.22 per cent. While inflation in vegetables and wheat segments eased during the reporting week, prices of protein-rich items such as eggs, milk and pulses have continued to remain high.

Experts opined that moderation in food inflation numbers, which was in double-digit in early November, was on account of good kharif harvest as well as a high base.

Inflation in the overall primary articles category stood at 3.78 per cent during the week ended 10 December as against 5.48 per cent in the previous week.

Fuel inflation stood unchanged at 15.24% for the week to 10 December while inflation in non-food manufactured items, a keenly watched indicator of demand, rose to 7.9% in November from 7.6% in October 2011.