It may be noticed that the annual rate of inflation as per the wholesale price index has also moved a shade lower to stand at 6.43 per cent for the latest week June 3.

Both the annual rate of inflations, computed at a point-to-point rate has shown a lowering of 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points decrease as compared to that of the previous period, say the month of April for CPI-UNME and the previous week in the case of WPI-based inflation rate when it had shot beyond the 6 per cent mark and risen to a whopping 6.2 per cent.

Economist see the convergence of the two levels of inflation as inevitable with the loss of freedom by and large between the wholesale level and the retail levels.

Seen at the index level the index for the latest period May at 364 is pegged as much as two points over that of the previous month's which stood at 362 points.

Seen at the disaggregated level, the point-to-point annual inflation rate for the latest period shows that out of the 59 centres that the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) takes into account to measure the annual rate of inflation of CPI-UNME, the highest rise has comeabout in the case of Siliguri which has witnessed a rise in the retail level inflation rate at 11.4 per cent as per the latest data obtained from the CSO. Siliguri was in the high list category in the previous month also wherein it had registered a steep rise of 11.5 per cent.

A negative rate of inflation as per the CPI-UNME has been reported for city of Gulbarga which has registered a deflation of 1.7 per cent for the latest recorded period.

Amongst the four metros, the highest rise in the annual inflation at the retail level recorded for the latest period has come about for Delhi which has seen prices of commodities at the retail level spurt a reported inflation of 6.9 per cent.

The rate of inflation for other metros like Chennai reported an inflation of second highest order of 6.6 per cent while Mumbai has registered an inflation of 6.0 per cent and Calcutta has shown an inflation of 5.0 per cent for the latest recorded period month May.

A general variation of (-) 1.7 per cent to 11.4 per cent has been seen in the inflation rate amongst the 59 centres captured by the CPI-UNME. The increases range between 0.1 per cent to 3 per cent for seven centres, from 3.1 per cent to 6 per cent for 27 centres, from 6.1 per cent to 9 per cent for 20 centres, from 9.1 per cent and over for four centres of the 59 centres where the CPI-UNME is captured as per the CSO. As compared to the average all-india inflation rate of 5.8 per cent as many as 27 centres have higher percentage increase as compared to the all-india figure. While 31 centres have reported lower inflation as compared to the all-India level while one centre has reported at par with the all-india average.