Rise in food prices pushes up inflation to 4.41%

NEW DELHI: Wholesale prices-based inflation rate increased to 4.41 per cent for the week ended July 14 from 4.27 per cent the previous week mainly on higher prices of fruits and vegetables, ragi, wheat, jowar, condiments and spices.

The inflation numbers are still within the five per cent annual target of the Reserve Bank, which is due to review the monetary policy on July 31.

The annual rate of inflation was 4.62 per cent in the corresponding week last year.

Among the primary articles, prices of vegetables rose sharply by 7 per cent during the week, while those of cereals rose by 0.9 per cent.

In the non-food articles category, prices of fibre rose by 2.2 per cent.

Among manufactured products, rates of rice and bran oil rose by 3 per cent each, while imported edible oil, groundnut oil, cotton seed oil and oil cakes became costlier by one percentage point.

However, the prices of sugar, jaggery and gingelly oil declined by one per cent. Also, prices of fish-marine and urad declined by two per cent and one per cent respectively.