It was the lowest since December 13, 1997 when it recorded 4.31 per cent. Two weeks ago (December 26 1998), it witnessed the sharpest fall in the current fiscal when it dropped by 0.87 per cent to come down to 5.34 per cent from 6.21 per cent in the previous week. It had touched the below the five per cent mark after a gap of 44 weeks. However, the inflation rate almost touched the six per cent mark at 5.98 per cent during the corresponding week last year (January 10 1998).

The latest fall in the inflation rate was attributed to considerable decline in the prices of barley, ragi, fruits, vegetables, raw rubber, suji, solvent extracted groundnut oil, ball bearings, cement, formaldehyde and trailors. But urad, bajra, maize, sulphuric acid and broad gauge passenger carriages saw arise in their prices during the week under review.

The prices of vegetables have been showing a downward trend for some weeks. There had been substantial rise in prices of essential commodities for past couple of months. The drop in the prices does not mean that the prices had come down drastically but it only shows that the price increase has been somewhat eased. The inflation rate has been on the decline since it touched the three-year high of 8.85 per cent on November 7. Since then it had clipped off 4.42 per cent.

It had been reigning in single digits for continuous 198 weeks since April one, 1995, brushing aside the old record of 1993 when it ruled in single digits for 52 weeks in succession.

Strict economic measures initiated by the government for the last few months had succeeded in controlling the runaway inflation rate. The jump in the inflation rate was due to hike in prices of vegetables. To add to this, bad crops and inclement weather gave boost to the rise in the inflation rate. Theinflation rate based on consumer price index for industrial workers had almost touched the 20 per cent mark at 19.67 per cent in November'98 which was a little over four times of inflation rate based on wholesale price index. It had been in double digits for consecutive seven months since may last year when it touched 10.51 per cent.

After remaining static the week before, the official wholesale price index for all commodities (1981-82) fell by 0.3 per cent to 353.7 on January 9 from 354.8 in the previous week mainly on account of the indices of fuel, power, light and lubricants, food articles and non-metallic minerals products going down sharply during the week under review.

The final wholesale price index for all commodities (base 1981-82) stood at 358.6 on November 14 as against the provisional index of 359.7. The inflation rate calculated on final index worked out to 8.21 per cent in contrast to 8.54 per cent based on provisional index.

With barley prices going down by three per cent, ragi, gram,fruits and vegetables prices down by two per cent each, moong, eggs, condiments and spices prices down by one per cent each, the index for food articles, under primary articles group, slumped by 0.4 per cent to 441.6 from 443.2. But urad prices moved up by whopping eight per cent, bajra and maize prices went up by four per cent each and masur prices rose by one per cent.

Due to one per cent rise in prices of fodder, the index for non-food articles saw a marginal increase to 389.1 from 389. But raw rubber prices fell by five per cent and groundnut prices down by one per cent.

The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants plummeted by 2.1 per cent to 374.1 from 382.1 because high speed diesel and light speed diesel oil prices fell by 11 per cent each and naphtha prices down by four per cent. This decline in the diesel prices was caused by the drastic fall in the international prices.