New Delhi, Oct 26: Timely measures for adequate supply of sugar and edible oil for the Diwali season helped inflation slip below the 5 per cent to be placed at 4.95 per cent during the week ended October 11, 2003. This is after two weeks that inflation has come down to below 5 per cent after remaining at 5.08 per cent during the week ended October 4 and 5.3 per cent during the week before that.

It stood at 4.72 per cent during the week ended September 20. The index for "food products" sub-group under the major manufactured products group during the week ended October 11 came down by 0.1 per cent.

This was due to four per cent decline in prices of extracted groundnut oil, 2 per cent decline in imported edible oil besides lowering of prices of rice bran oil, hydrogenated vanaspati, gingelly oil and sugar by one per cent each. Inflation had crept up to 5.08 per cent last week on account of a sharp 10 per cent increase in the prices of vegetables coupled with costlier primary products, fuel and manufactured products.

Bureau Report