Dim view on macro front

With the impending petrol and diesel price hike likely to add pressure, inflation remained at a four-month high of 5.64 per cent during the week ended April 16.

The point-to-point wholesale price index (wpi) inflation rose by 0.16 per cent from 5.48 per cent in the previous week mainly due to costlier food and manufactured products, even as minerals became cheaper. It was 4.68 per cent in the year-ago period.

Observing that the recent surge in price level was more due to base effect, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had said inflation was under control but oil continues to be a concern. He promised steps to maintain price stability. The WPI was up by 0.3 per cent to 191.2 points owing to an all-round increase in the indices of all the major commodity groups — primary, fuels and manufactured products despite international oil prices started sliding.

Oil, coal down core sector growth

ENS Economic Bureau
New Delhi, April 29

The growth of six infrastructure industries slipped to 4.4 per cent during 2004-05 compared to 6.2 per cent in the previous year. The dismal performance of petroleum refining products, coal and steel sectors in the last four months of the fiscal weighed down the overall growth. The decline is at odds with the general economic buoyancy.

In March too, the combined growth of the core sector was lower at 3.7 per cent, compared to a healthy 8.3 per cent in the corresponding month last fiscal, according to official data released on Friday. The sharpest decline of growth was reported in February at -0.3 per cent (11.6 per cent). In March, petroleum refining products registered a negative growth of -2.2 per cent as compared to 10.1 per cent growth in the corresponding period in the previous year, while finished steel showed a growth of 4.4 per cent (9.3 per cent).