Prices becoming royal pain for king consumer

NEW DELHI: The all-India consumer price index for urban non-manual employees, CPI (UNME), rose 7.8% in February 2007 compared to the same month last year, the highest growth this financial year.

The index measures the average change in the consumer prices of food, beverages, tobacco, fuel, housing, clothing, education and transport, among other categories. CPI (UNME) has been over 5% every month this fiscal till February 2007. In January 2007, the index grew 7.4% over the year and 7.2% in October 2006. The index breached the 6% mark in May, June, August, September and December, according to CPI (UNME) data of the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO).


CPI (UNME) figures released on Monday show the index of food, beverages and tobacco has risen the most, with consumer prices having soared 11.8% in February 2007 over the year, followed by housing (5.8%), fuel and lights (5.63%), clothing and bedding and footwear (3.56%) and transport, education and medical care among others (3.56%).

Compared to the previous month, the index grew 0.2% in February 2007 fuelled by 0.41% rise in the index of food, beverages and tobacco. While the fuel and lights index grew 0.36% in the month over the previous month, there was no change in the housing index. The index of clothing and bedding and footwear grew 0.23% and transport, education and medical care, among others, 0.2%.

In the category of food, beverages and tobacco, consumer prices of vegetables and spices rose a whopping 23.39% and 23.81% respectively over the year while the prices of spices declined by 1.97% since the previous month and rose 0.63% in the case of vegetables.

Among the 59 urban centres covered in the index, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Aurangabad and Hyderabad have registered the maximum rise in the overall CPI (UNME) in February 2007 over the previous month with growth of 14%, 13.2%, 11.7% and 10.8% respectively.