The inflation rate was 3.02 a year ago. According to the latest official WPI data, inflation rate based on the final index was 6.75 per cent for the week ended April 8 this year. This was much higher than the provisional estimate of 4.64 per cent for the week. Going by the sharp difference between provisional and final index in the last couple of months, the final inflation rate for the week ended June 3, is likely to be sharply higher than the currently estimated 6.43 per cent. The final All Commodities' index for the week ended April8, stood at 151.9 compared to 148.9 on the provisional index. The index for All Commodities (Base 1993-94=100) during the week ended June 3, rose by 0.1 per cent to 152.3 (Provisional) as against 152.1(P) In the previous week.

Inflation rate has been rising since February this year from 3 per cent mainly on account of a rise in the prices of fuel, power, light and lubricants which mostly consists of items whose prices are administered.

Fuel, power, light & lubricants group, which account for 14.23 per cent of the total weight of WPI, rose by 26.28 per cent in the last one year. As against this, the other two major groups in WPI Primary Articles and Manufactured Products rose by 6.10 per cent and 1.54 per cent respectively compared to the previous year.

Compared to WPI, inflation based on Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers (CPI-IW) for April stood at 5.54 per cent, up from 4.83 per cent in the previous month. Commodities which witnessed substantial price fluctuation during the week were wheat, fish-inland and condiments and spices (up 4 Per cent each) and Mesta(up 7 per cent), bajra (down 3 per cent).

Index for Primary Articles rose by 0.6 per cent to 165.2 from 164.2 on account of a increase in the index of Food articles. Food Articles index rose by 0.8 per cent to 175.7 from 174.3 in the previous week on account of costlier wheat, fish-inland and condiments and spices(4 per cent each), vegetables and mutton (2 per cent each) and maize, raagi and fruits (1 per cent each). However, the prices of bajra (3 per cent), masur andtea (2 per cent each) and jowar, moong, milk and eggs(1 per cent each) declined from the sub group.