Potatoes at Rs. 50/- a kg – inflation under control
While potatoes are being sold at Rs. 50/- a kg, the Finance Ministry feels things are in control.
Annual rate of inflation, year on year as conventionally measured, further declined to 11.80 per cent for the week ending September 27, 2008. Inflation in the same period in the previous year at 3.36 per cent, however, was significantly lower.
In the ‘primary articles' group, the annual point-to-point inflation declined to 11.17 per cent, as compared to 11.29 per cent reported last week. Out of a total of 98 articles, 17 articles have shown a decline in prices in the current week as compared to September 20, 2008. These included among others, bajra , maize, masur , gram, moong , raw wool and cotton, tomatoes, onions, dry chillies, black pepper, okara and sapota . Another 57 articles have shown no increase in prices.
In the case of ‘manufactured products', rate of inflation in the current week declined to 10.33 per cent, as compared to 10.55 per cent in previous week. Out of 318 commodities, a large number, 295 in all, have shown no increase in prices over the last week. In the case of 10 commodities, there has been a decline in prices. These commodities included cotton yarn, polyester staple fibre, enamelled copper wire, groundnut and gingelly oil, groundnut cake, pipes and tubes and cement. Only 13 products, particularly rice bran, mustard, cottonseed and imported edible oils; lead and zinc ingots; oxygen; calcium ammonium nitrate; ointment and tablets other than vitamins and penicillin witnessed an increase in prices.
Inflation of 30 essential commodities marginally increased to 7.74 per cent as on the week ending September 27, 2008 from 7.70 per cent reported in the earlier week. There was, however, a decline in the prices of 7 of these commodities and prices of other 16 commodities remained unchanged.