India’s annual food inflation falls to 15.53 percent

NEW DELHI - India’s annual food inflation fell to 15.53 percent for the week ended Oct 9 from 16.37 percent in the previous week on improved supplies of food articles and lower prices of some vegetables.

Official data released Thursday showed the annual inflation rate for the primary articles group also fell to 18.05 percent during the week under review, compared to a rise of 18.54 percent recorded in the week ended Oct 2.

The index for fuels was unchanged at 11.14 percent for the week ended Oct 9.

The barometer for food prices has been hovering at higher levels for the past few weeks. The slip came as food supplies improved after the monsoon rains and analysts expect a good Rabi crop to bring down food inflation further.

However, the still-high food prices will influence the Reserve Bank of India’s decision to effect another hike of key interest rates. The wholesale price inflation rose to 8.62 percent in September from 8.51 percent in the previous month, increasing pressure on the RBI to further tighten the monetary policy.

The policy review comes up Nov 2.

The RBI had in September hiked its short-term borrowing and lending rates by 50 basis points and 25 basis points respectively.

The following are the rise and fall in prices of some of the main commodities that form the sub-index for food articles over the past 52 weeks:

Cereals: 5.88 percent

Rice: 4.72 percent

Wheat: 7.01 percent

Pulses: 4.44 percent

Vegetables: 12.26 percent

Fruits: 15.65 percent

Milk: 21.65 percent

Potatoes: (-)49.82 percent

Onions: (-) 8.62 percent