Food inflation dips to four-month low at 8.6 percent

NEW DELHI - India’s annual food inflation fell to a four-month low of 8.6 percent for the week ended Nov 20 as fresh kharif crop arrivals had a dampening effect of prices of food grain and vegetables, according to official data released Thursday.

The annual inflation rate for the primary articles group slipped at 12.72 percent during the week under review compared to 13.38 percent in the week ended Nov 13, according to data released by the commerce and industry ministry.

Food inflation as well as the inflation based on wholesale prices have moderated in the past few weeks due to aggressive monetary tightening policy adopted by the country’s central bank and robust supply of essential food items.

The overall inflation based on wholesale prices fell to 8.58 percent in October from 8.62 in the month before.

Fuels and power inflation dipped to 9.99 percent, compared to 10.57 percent in the previous week.

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: 0.66 percent

Rice: 1.84 percent

Wheat: (-) 3.16 percent

Pulses: (-) 10 percent

Vegetables: (-) 3 percent

Fruits: 19.27 percent

Milk: 17.76 percent

Potatoes: (-) 42.99 percent

Onions: 16.86 percent