Inflation at 0.48% for the week ended May 2; ninth successive week below 1%

Inflation IndiaAccording to government data released Thursday, the wholesale price index, determining inflation in India, for the week ended May 2 was 0.48 percent, after having shown an increase for three weeks in a row. Though the latest week’s figures mark a fall from the earlier week’s annual rise of 0.70 percent, it was still more than the 0.3 percent median forecast by analysts in Reuters’ poll.

Nonetheless, it is for the ninth successive week, the inflation has been below 1 per cent. For the same week a year earlier, the annual inflation rate stood at 8.73 percent!  

As a somewhat established practice, the weekly-released wholesale price index is more closely observed than the monthly-published consumer price index, for the simple reason that it covers a wider range of products.

During the mentioned week, the price-rise trend pertaining to essential food products - including pulses, spices, cereals and vegetables – continued unabated, though the prices of fruits showed a decline.

Meanwhile, prices of jet fuel and bitumen showed a fall. As regards the manufactured products, prices of imported edible oil and sugar increased, as did the prices of pesticides, which rose by 33 percent; and price of benzene, which showed a 27 percent increase.