(RTTNews) - India's annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index or WPI, for December 2009 stood at 7.31%, much higher than 4.78% in the preceding month, and slightly higher than 6.15% reported during the corresponding month of last year, say data released Thursday by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The build-up inflation during the current fiscal so far surged to 8.02% from 1.86% in the corresponding period last year, the data showed.
Going by provisional figures, WPI for all-commodities for December rose by 0.4% to 246.5 from 245.4 for the previous month.
The WPI-based inflation rose due to higher prices of pulses, oil seeds as also some manufactured products.
Rise in the prices of urad, moong, condiments and spices, pork, fish-marine, eggs, arhar, masur, bajra, milk, rice as also gram under the "Food Articles" category, besides that of tobacco, raw rubber, raw jute, groundnut seed, copra, raw cotton, gingelly seed, as also linseed under the "Non-Food Articles" group, and higher prices of fire clay, dolomite, gypsum and asbestos under the "Minerals" group pushed the growth rate of index for Primary Articles to 1.2% from the previous week's level. However, prices of poultry chicken, vegetables, fruits, jowar, fish-inland, tea, niger seed, skins raw, vermiculite, and ochre declined.The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants rose 0.1% from the previous month, due to the higher prices of light diesel oil, naphtha, as also furnace oil.
The index for Manufactured Products rose by 0.2% due to the higher prices of tyre cord, benzene, texturized yarn, all types bran, hessian cloth, imported edible oil coconut oil, synthetic rubber, atta, maida, sooji, steel ingots, whereas those of other electrical equipment & systems, ammonium sulphate n_content, bopp film, endosulfan, rubber chemicals, cement as also pig iron declined.
Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council Chairman and former Governor of Reserve Bank of India or RBI C. Rangarajan said some action was required on the monetary front to control the rising inflation, adding that there was a need to check that liquidity did not exert inflationary pressures, as the quarterly monetary policy review of the RBI to be held on January 29.
He said the apex bank could raise the key ratios and rates by tightening liquidity in the system for checking inflation by curbing demand. Rangarajan also called upon the government to look into the supply side stressing the need of steps on the total demand side and added that inflation was mainly due to supply constraints and high demand.
by RTT Staff Writer (rttnews.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment