India's annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), dropped to a four-month low of 3.39 per cent for October 2016 over corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year 2016-17 so far stood at 4.34 per cent compared to a build up rate of 0.45 per cent in the same period of the 2015-16.

Annual rate of inflation was 3.57 per cent for September 2016 and minus 3.70 per cent in October 2015.

Meanwhile, the official WPI for all commodities (Base: 2004-05 = 100) for the month of October, 2016 rose by 0.1 per cent to 182.9 from 182.8 for the previous month, according to the provisional data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, ministry of commerce and industry.

The index for manufactured products (weight 64.97 per cent) for October, 2016 rose by 0.2 per cent to 157.4 from 157.1 for the previous month. The index for textiles sub-group, however, declined by 0.4 per cent to 141.7 from 142.2 for the previous month due to lower price of jute sacking bag (5 per cent), jute sacking cloth (4 per cent) and cotton yarn and cotton fabric (1 per cent each).

The index for primary articles (weight 20.12 per cent) declined by 0.8 per cent to 261.8 from 263.9 for the previous month. On the other hand, the index for fuel and power (weight 14.91 per cent) rose by 1.0 per cent to 187.3 from 185.4 for the previous month due to higher prices of aviation turbine fuel, petrol, furnace oil, high speed diesel, kerosene and LPG.

Meanwhile, the Central Statistics Office, ministry of statistics and programme implementation has released Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) with base 2004-05 for the month of September 2016. The General Index for the month of September 2016 stands at 179.5, which is 0.7 per cent higher as compared to the level in the month of September 2015. The cumulative growth for the period April-September 2016 over the corresponding period of the previous year stands at minus 0.1 per cent. (RKS)