(RTTNews) - A statement released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry indicated that the annual rate of inflation for the week ended October 24, 2009 for Primary articles stood at 8.94%, compared to 8.67% in the preceding week. It was 11.73% for the same week In the preceding year.

The annual rate of inflation for the commodities in the broad group “Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants, was unchanged from the previous week’s level of minus 6.20%. The inflation rate stood at 13.59% for the corresponding week a year-ago.

As per the decision of the Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs or CCEA, the weekly release of Wholesale Price Index or WPI will henceforth cover only the Primary Articles and Commodities in the broad group “Fuel, Power, Light & Lubricants”.

The ministry said it would release next week the monthly WPI covering all commodities for the last month.

Primary articles

As per the provisional data released by the ministry, the major Primary articles group, having a weightage of 22.0%, declined 0.1% from the previous week.

Among the sub-groups, the index for the “Food Articles” category declined 0.3%, due to lower prices of fish-marine, fruits & vegetables, barley as also jowar. However, the prices of moong, wheat and bajra and condiments and spices, as also gram moved up.

The index for ‘Non-Food Articles’ group rose by 0.2% due to higher prices of raw silk, raw rubber, castor seed, rape and mustard seed, raw cotton, as also copra, whereas that of raw wool and linseed and groundnut seed declined.

The build-up inflation for the primary articles during this fiscal year so far increased to 9.64% from 5.83% in the corresponding period last year. The 52-week average inflation for the week ended October 24 was 8.17%, the data showed.

Fuel, Power, Light & Lubricants

The annual rate of inflation for the group, having a weightage of 14.23%, for the reported week was unchanged from the previous week’s level of minus 6.20%. It was 13.59% during the corresponding week of the previous year.

The index for this group was unchanged at its previous week’s level of 344.9.

The build-up inflation for this group during this fiscal year so far fell to 7.45% from 7.58% in the corresponding period last year. The 52-week average inflation for the week ended October 24 was minus 5.39, as per data.

With the shortfall in kharif production now pegged at 21 million tonnes, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the inflation in food prices was worrying, and that there was clear demand-supply gap in commodities like rice, which has been worst hit by this year’s drought.

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, while inaugurating the Economic Editors’ Conference in New Delhi Tuesday, said he had ruled out withdrawing the fiscal stimulus packages until the economy returns to a firm growth track.

In his interaction with senior media leaders, Mukherjee, however, said it was imperative to return to fiscal discipline as soon as the current economic circumstances permit us to do so.

The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said Wednesday that the financial reforms should continue, adding that India’s high food price inflation was a concern, but it should moderate in the coming months with the arrival of rabi crops.

The Planning Commission expects the economy to grow by 6.5% during the current fiscal, marginally higher than 6.3% projected by the Commission earlier. Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council too had projected 6.5% economic expansion in this fiscal.

Having recorded growth rate of 9% during the three consecutive years, the economic growth rate during fiscal 2009 decelerated to 6.7% on account of the impact of the global financial meltdown on the country.

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Posted in Categories: Economy, Releases.

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