Food inflation moderates to 7.47% for week ended May 7

19 May 2011 Evaluate

India’s food inflation numbers have continued its downward trajectory for the week ended May 7, 2011 on the back of cheaper pulses, vegetables and wheat. Besides, it being the third consecutive week in which the food Inflation has declined, the price rise in the food items is at its lowest rate in the last 18 months. These numbers may bring some ease to the government and the RBI which have been striving hard for controlling Inflation.

According to the data released by the commerce and industry ministry on Thursday, the food price index declined at 7.47% during the week ending May 7, compared with a corresponding figure of 7.70% a week ago. However, non-food primary articles were up 23.82 per cent during the week under review. The primary articles price index was up 10.94%, compared with an annual rise of 11.96% a week earlier. The government and Reserve Bank had said that in months to come, inflationary pressure would be more from core (non-food) items on account of high global prices of commodities, particularly crude.

The index for fuel and power group, which has a weight of 14.91% in the WPI, stood at 12.11% for the week under review as compared to 12.25% for the previous week.

Though food prices inflation have eased for the third consecutive week but headline inflation, at 8.66 per cent in April, remains considerably higher than the central bank's comfort level, thereby maintaining pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates in June and continue a hawkish stance. The central bank raised interest rates in early May -- its ninth rate hike since March 2010 -- by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points and said fighting inflation was its priority, even at the expense of short-term growth.

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