New Delhi: Food inflation fell to single digit at 9.67 percent for the first time this year at a time when the government is facing a concerted Opposition attack on rising food and fuel prices.
Inflation fell by 2.80 percentage points for the week ended July 17 from 12.47 percent in the previous week, as prices of vegetables, especially potatoes and onions, declined.
On a yearly basis, potatoes became cheaper by over 46 percent and onions by over 10 percent. Overall vegetable prices fell 14.77 percent, according to data released by the government today.
However, prices of pulses, milk and fruits rose by 21.23 percent, 19.03 percent and 12.14 percent respectively.
On a weekly basis, prices of onions fell by 0.66 percent, while that of potatoes inched up by 2.06 percent.
Overall vegetable prices on a weekly basis went down by 0.34 percent.
On annual basis, rice became costlier by 5.31 percent though it softened by 0.64 per cent on a week-on-week basis.
Similarly, prices of cereals rose by 5.62 percent on a year-on-year basis, but fell 0.04 percent week-on-week.
Overall inflation, which includes prices of manufactured goods, was 10.55 percent in June, led by high food prices.
Food inflation has remained above the 16 percent level for most part of the year, before falling sharply to below 13 per cent since mid-June.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, July 29, 2010, 13:14