Food inflation tumbles below 7%...Fuel inflation steady

Food inflation in India slid further in the fourth week of November, falling under the 7% mark, data released by the Government showed on Thursday. Fuel inflation remained steady. The sharp drop in food inflation over the past one month or so is likely to provide some much-needed breather to consumers and the policymakers. However, it will be a while before the RBI starts considering a cut in its policy rates. Food inflation declined to 6.6% in the week ended November 26 from 8% in the preceding week, the Commerce & Industry Ministry said today. Food inflation stood at 8.93% in the corresponding week last year. Inflation in the Primary Articles group fell to 6.92% in the week under review, from 7.74% in the week ended November 19, according to the Commerce Ministry statement. It was at 14.01% in the year-ago period. Inflation in the Fuel & Power group stood at 15.53% in the week ended November 26, unchanged compared to the previous week, the Government data showed. It was at 10.07% in the comparable week of the previous year. Inflation in the Non-Food Articles space slid to 1.37% in the week under review from 2.14% in the previous week, the Government data showed. It was at 27.31% in the same period a year earlier.



Inflation in the Minerals group increased to 19.06% in the week ended November 26 from 16.26% in the week ended November 19, according to the Commerce Ministry data. Inflation in this group stood at 28.53% in the year-ago period. On an annual basis, onions turned cheaper by ~39% in the week under consideration, but vegetable prices dropped ~1.25% on an annual basis. Fruits turned costlier by ~11% year over year, while Milk prices increased ~11% and Egg, Meat & Fish became pricey by ~10% compared to the year-ago period. Potato prices were down ~16% on an annual basis while Cereal prices went up by ~1.7% year over year. Prices of Pulses jumped by ~13%. Annual inflation in Rice stood at ~2.3% while Wheat prices fell ~4.7%. In the Non-Food category, prices of Fibres fell by ~7% year-on-year while that of Oilseeds rose by ~11.6% from a year ago. In Fuel category, LPG prices are up ~14.3%, petrol by ~25.4% and diesel by ~9.2%. Compared to the previous week, prices of Onion, Potato and Vegetables were down 1.5%, 4.3% and 5.3%, respectively. Egg, Meat & Fish prices are down 1.3% week-on-week while that of Fibres slipped ~1.9%.