Food inflation eased marginally to 10.63 per cent for the week ended November 5, prompting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to say, it is a ‘good sign' and the common man will get some relief if the trend continues.
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 October 29. It stood at 11.41 per cent in the corresponding week of the previous year.
“... If this trend of food inflation continues, then it is a good sign. At least on the food front, we may expect some relief if this trend continues for some more time,” Mr. Mukherjee told reporters here.
The marginal decline, however, has not brought much relief to the common man at present, as prices of most commodities — with the exception of onions and wheat — continued to remain firm.
On the positive side, onions became cheaper by 22.89 per cent year-on-year, while wheat prices were down 3.63 per cent.
Vegetables, however, 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.
“We expect prices to display a moderate decline in the coming weeks. Overall, food inflation is expected to moderate to single digit in November, on account of a moderation in demand subsequent to the festive season, and ease substantially in December, reflecting the base effect,” ICRA economist Aditi Nayar said.
Inflation in the overall primary articles category stood at 10.39 per cent during the week ended November 5, 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 October 29.
Fuel and power inflation stood at 15.49 per cent during the week 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 this year.
The RBI has hiked interest rates 13 times since March, 2010, to tame demand and curb inflation.
