Inflation in India came down to 8.66% in April, due to moderated prices in certain food items, but food and fuel prices continued to rise.

Measured on the basis of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), the overall inflation has been revised to 9.04% for March. The original projection was 8.98%. The same occurred in February; the first inflation forecast was to 8.31%, but later it achieved 9.54%.

According to the analysts, food prices will remain high, mainly due to the higher global commodity prices, which are feeding price rise. The index by manufactured goods rose by 6.18% on an annual basis. They also have the highest weight in the WPI (64.9%).

About 15% of overall WPI inflation is caused by food inflation, and it stood at 7.70% for the end of April. Primary articles (food, non-food articles and minerals) rose by 12.05% on an annual basis. Food items shot up by 8.71%, whereas minerals went up by 7.41% and non-food primary articles rose over 27%.

At the same time, power and fuel prices increased 13.32%, due to a 21.81% rise in petrol prices, besides 11.31% rise in cooking gas (LPG) rates. There are expectations that fuel inflation will rise after the recent increase of petrol prices.