Food Inflation eased marginally to 10.63 per cent for the Week ended 5 November 2011

Food inflation eased marginally to 10.63 per cent for the week ended 5 November 2011. Food inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), declined by 1.18 percentage points during the week under review from 11.81 per cent in the previous week ended 29 October. It stood at 11.41 per cent in the corresponding week of 2010.

The marginal decline could not bring much change in the price scenerio as prices of most commodities with the exception of onions and wheat continued to remain firm. onions became cheaper by 22.89 per cent year-on-year, while wheat prices were down 3.63 per cent.

Vegetables grew dearer by 27.26 per cent, pulses by 14.44 per cent, milk by 10.74 per cent and eggs, meat and fish by 11.73 per cent.

Food Inflation- Category-wise Analysis

Inflation in the overall primary articles category stood at 10.39 per cent during the week ended 5 November as against 11.43 per cent in the previous week. Primary articles have over 20 per cent weight in the WPI.
Inflation in non-food articles, including fibres, oilseeds and minerals, was recorded at 5.33 per cent during the week under review, as against 6.41 per cent in the week ended 29 October 2011.

Fuel and power inflation stood at 15.49 per cent during the week ended 5 November as against 14.50 per cent in the previous week.

Persistently high food prices are likely to exert further pressure on the government and the Reserve Bank of India to tackle the situation expeditiously.

Headline inflation, which also factors in manufactured items, has been above the 9 per cent-mark since December 2010. It stood at 9.73 per cent in September 2011. The RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March 2010 to tame demand and curb inflation.