Inflation rises to 10.72%

Having continued its southward journey for five weeks in a row, inflation rose marginally to 10.72% for the week ended October 25 from 10.68 per cent in the previous week. Earlier a Reuters poll showed that the inflation rate was expected to have eased to around 10.5 per cent in late October, helped by falling commodity and fuel prices. The median forecast of 10 economists was for a 10.45 per cent rise in the wholesale price index in the 12 months to October 25, compared with 10.68 per cent during the week ended October 18. Inflation was 9.32 per cent on May 31, and had surged into double digits in the first week of June after a hike in state-set retail fuel prices. Market observes said they expected the inflation rate to drop further in the coming weeks. “We expect a drop in the primary commodity prices, a continued drop in the fuel prices and the manufacturing index as well,” said Saugata Bhattacharya, economist with Axis Bank. In early August, the inflation rate had hit 12.91 per cent, the highest reading since annual numbers in the current data series became available in April 1995.