Inflation, based on the wholesale price index (WPI), fell by 0.63 percentage points to 7.01 per cent (provisional) during the week from 7.64 per cent recorded in the previous week. However, it was still much higher compared to 4.31 per cent recorded in the same week last year.

Inflation has fallen by about 1.85 percentage points in the last six weeks after it touched a three year high of 8.85 per cent. However, the decline would only mean that prices of food articles, particularly vegetables and edible oils, have started easing from its previous highs.

Inflation had risen to 8.85 per cent in first week of November as prices of agricultural commodities skyrocketed due to shortages. In the present week, index of "food articles" eased by one per cent while that of "food products" came down by 0.5 per cent.

Theindex for "all commodities" (base:1981-82=100) during the week declined by 0.2 per cent to 357.1 (p) against 357.9 (p) in the previous week. Compared to wholesale prices, inflation still ruled high on consumer price index for industrial workers (CPI-IW) at 18.6 per cent in October. This is the highest ever inflation on CPI-IW.