For the week ended June 21, inflation rate climbed up to 11.63 percent, as against 11.42% during the last week.

The inflation rate is presently at the highest since May 6, 1995, when it was 11.11%.

Fueled by increasing food and commodity prices, this will be the 19th straight week that inflation rate has been rising above 5.5%, RBI’s target by the end of the fiscal year in March 2009.

The wholesale price index-based inflation has continued its rise regardless of attempts being taken by the administration and the central bank to tame prices through fiscal as well as monetary measures.

The finance ministry functionaries have already said that inflation could climb up to 13 percent in the coming weeks.

While food products increased 0.9%, food articles zoomed 0.6% and non-food articles surged 0.4%. Similarly chemicals and products climbed 0.6%, machinery and machine tools were up 0.2%, and alloys and metal products increased 0.8%. Textiles were also up 0.6%, whereas WPI for all commodities remained at 237.1. 

According to the provisional figure for the week ended August 28, 2004, the previous high for the inflation rate in the UPA regime was 8.33 percent.