Friday, February 18 2005 13:50 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Inflation fell for the tenth consecutive week to 5.01 per cent in the week ended February 5, touching the lowest level after the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came into power, due to cheaper vegetables, fruits and edible oils.

Reflecting the "measured" steps taken by the Centre and RBI, the widely tracked point-to-point Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation touched 10-months low falling by 0.24 per cent from the previous week's level of 5.25 per cent and it was as high as 6.15 per cent in year ago period.

The WPI, however, rose by 0.1 per cent to 188.6 points mainly due to costlier fuel products, even as primary items became cheaper while manufactured products' prices remained unchanged. The index was 179.6 points in the previous year period.

Government revised upwards inflation to 6.84 per cent in the week ended December 11 as compared to provisional figure of 6.73 per cent.

The WPI stood corrected at 188.9 points during the second week of December as against the provisional estimate of 188.7 points.

The index of mass consumption Primary Articles' group was down by 0.1 per cent to 184.9 points despite costlier food products and it was 182 points in the year ago period.

Food Articles' group index rose by 0.1 per cent to 183.8 points due to costlier eggs (6 per cent), fish-inland and fish-marine and bajra (2 per cent), condiments and spices and rice (1 per cent each).

Prices, however, dipped in the case of vegetables (4 per cent), tea and moong (2 per cent) and fruits, jowar, barley and arhar (1 per cent each).

The index for Non-Food Articles' group was down by 0.6 per cent to 180.4 points due to lower prices for soyabean (11per cent), rawa silk (6 per cent), niger seed and sunflower (3 per cent each), gingelly seed and cotton seed (2 per cent each) and linseed (1 per cent).

But prices moved up for groundnut seed (3 per cent), skins and raw jute (2 per cent each) and fodder and raw tobacco (1 per cent each).

Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants' group index rose by 0.3 per cent to 288.9 points due to costlier Aviation Turbine Fuel (10 per cent), furnace oil (6 per cent) and naphtha (3 per cent). The index was 262.7 points a year ago.

During the week in review, in the global markets, oil prices were range bound at a lower level after OPEC had agreed to hold its current oil production ceiling steady and to suspend its target price band of $ 22-28 a barrel and elections in the war-ravaged Iraq.

The index for heavy-weighted Manufactured Products' group was unchanged at the previous week's level of 167.5 points despite cheaper food products and textiles and it was 160.3 points in the previous year period.