Inflation at 3.7 pc

During the reference week, prices of food products, basic metals, alloys, and metal products eased substantially. The index for quot;all commoditiesquot; base: 1981-82 =100, however, rose by 0.2 per cent to 355.8 provisional, against 355.1 P In the previous week.

Meanwhile, inflation, based on the final index for the week ended February 27, the latest available, stood at 5.3 per cent, compared with 5.2 per cent based on the provisional index.

The present decline is mainly due to anease in the prices of maida, atta, suji, solvent-extracted groundnut oil, drums, and barrels.

Compared to the WPI-based inflation, the rate of increase in prices based on the Consumer Price Index for industrial workers CPI-iw, which is more reflective of retail prices, stood much higher at 8.9 per cent in March. The CPI-iw inflation had touched a high of 15.3 per cent in December last.