Inflation at -1.14% for week ended June 13

India’s inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), fell for a second successive week, largely owing to last year's high base and partly due to the slowdown in the economy, data released by the Government showed on Thursday.

The annual, point-to-point inflation stood at (-)1.14% in the week ended June 13, 2009 as compared to (-)1.61% in the previous week, the Commerce & Industry Ministry said in a statement today. It was at 11.8% during the corresponding week (June 14, 2008) of the previous year, it added.

The WPI for 'All Commodities' rose by 0.6% to 234.2 from 232.7 in the week ended June 6, 2009. The wholesale price index published today may be revised in two months, after the government receives additional price data.

The Government also announced that it has revised the inflation rate for the week ended April 18, 2009 to 1.62% as compared to the preliminary forecast of 0.57%. The WPI for the same period has been revised to 232.6 from the provisional estimate of 230.2.

The index for 'Primary Articles' group rose by 0.1% to 256.3 while the index for ‘Food Articles’ increased by 0.2% to 251.2.

The index for Fuel, Power, Light & Lubricants gained 0.4% to 327.5 in the previous week. The rise was led by higher prices of aviation turbine fuel (12%), light diesel oil (10%), furnace oil (3%) and naphtha (1%).

The index for 'Manufactured Products' group rose by 1% to 205.8 from 203.8 for the previous week.

The index for 'Beverages Tobacco & Tobacco Products' declined by 0.3% to 301.6 while the index for 'Textiles' group was up by 0.7% to 142.7.

The index for 'Chemicals & Chemical Products' rose by 4.8% to 228.2 on the back of higher prices of capsules other than vitamin & antibiotics (58%).

Falling WPI-based inflation is only a statistical feature and doesn’t mean India is suffering from deflation, RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said on June 20. The central bank will review its inflation target of 4% for FY10 when it holds its next monetary-policy meeting in the last week of July, taking into account the impact of rising oil and commodity prices, Subbarao said.

The RBI will take into account other benchmarks of prices when it decides on monetary policy, according to Subbarao. Consumer prices paid by farm and rural workers jumped 10.21% in May from a year earlier, after rising 9.09% in April. Consumer prices paid by industrial workers rose 8.7% in April from a year earlier, after gaining 8.3% the previous month, according to government data.