E-Paper
Food inflation in single digit at 9.52% for week ended Feb 26
After a gap of nearly three months, food inflation fell to a single digit at 9.52% for the week ended February 26 on account of a decline in prices of potatoes, pulses and wheat.
After a gap of nearly three months, food inflation fell to a single digit at 9.52% for the week ended February 26 on account of a decline in prices of potatoes, pulses and wheat.
Food inflation stood at 10.39% in the previous week. The rate of price rise of food items has fallen to a single-digit figure for the first time since the week ended December 4, 2010, when it was 9.46%.
The latest figures are expected to give a breather to the government, which has been under increasing pressure to rein in the inflationary pressure caused by high food and crude oil prices.
For the week under review, prices of wheat declined by 1.07% on an annual basis, while pulses rates fell by 3.91%.
Prices of potatoes also fell by nearly 9% year-on-year.
However, vegetables continued to be expensive and their prices went up by 9.23% on annual basis. In particular, onion prices were up by 3.90% year-on-year.
Rice also became dearer by 1.16% year-on-year. Egg, meat and fish became 15.38% costlier.
Meanwhile, fruits prices rose by 18.75% and milk by 8.42% on an annual basis.
The non-food articles category saw a price rise of 29.85% during the week on an annual basis.
Fuel and power also became 9.48% more expensive, while petrol became costlier by 23.14%.
High food prices have been one of the major factors behind high overall inflation. Headline inflation in the country stood at 8.23% in January and the government has exuded confidence that it will fall to 7% by March-end.
