Food inflation plunges into negative zone; moderates for 8th week in a row

05 Jan 2012 Evaluate

India’s weekly food inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), extended the declining streak for the eighth week in a row and even plunged in to the negative terrain to -3.36% for the week ended December 24 from 0.42% for the previous week thanks to sharp decline in the prices of onions, potatoes and vegetables. The food inflation has turned negative after hovering in the double digits for nearly two long years.

The sharp slump in the rate of price rise of food items in the last one and half months has come as a sigh of relief for economic policymakers and also the government who had been battling to control the rampant inflationary pressure on the economy since two years. In a bid to rein inflation, RBI hiked key policy rates by 13 times since March 2010 only to pause the liquidity tightening measures in its recent meeting. The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee opined that this is the first time in almost six years, for which data with base year 2004-05 is available, that food inflation has shown a decline on an annual basis. The decline in food inflation is seen as a major incentive for the RBI to look at the option of easing interest rates sooner than later.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the index for ‘Food Articles’ group declined by 0.2% to 190.0 from 190.3 for the previous week due to lower prices of jowar, fruits & vegetables, gram and moong (1% each).  However, the prices of poultry chicken (3%), egg, ragi and maize (2% each) moved up.

The index for ‘Non-Food Articles’ group rose by 0.6% to 178.7 (Provisional) from 177.6 for the previous week due to higher prices of soyabean (6%), raw jute (4%),  gaur seed and gingelly seed (3% each), cotton seed and raw cotton (2% each) and coir fibre, groundnut seed and mesta (1% each).  However, the prices of flowers (7%) and castor seed, fodder and copra (2% each) declined.

As a result, the index for ‘Primary Articles’, which accounts for 20.12% of the WPI, rose by 0.1% for the week ended December 24 to 197.6 from 197.5 for the previous week. The annual rate of inflation, calculated on point to point basis, stood at 0.10% for the period under consideration as compared to 2.70% for the previous week. Meanwhile, the index for Fuel & Power group which carries a weightage remained unchanged at its previous closing levels of 172.7 in the week.

© 2025 The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd. All rights reserved. MoneyWorks4Me ® is a registered trademark of The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.

×