By IANS,
New Delhi : India’s inflation rate rose to 8.75 percent for the week ended May 31 from 8.24 percent the week before, according to official data released here Friday.
The sharp rise in the inflation rate was for the week before the central government announced significant hikes in transport and cooking fuel prices. Analysts now fear the inflation rate may touch double digits, though the government has said it is trying its best to hold the price line.
The official data showed an upward trend in prices of both food and non-food items in the week under review. The prices of food items rose 0.6 percent and of non-food items 1.9 percent.
Within these major categories, mustard oil price showed a sharp rise of 6 percent, oil cakes and cottonseed oil 3 percent and groundnut oil 1 percent.
The prices of manufactured products went up 1 percent. The prices of textiles went up 3.9 percent and leather and leather products 1.3 percent.
The price of hardly any commodity showed a downward trend, though rubber and plastic products did become cheaper by 0.1 percent, and so did basic metals.