FW Bureau

New Delhi, July 29

Food inflation fell to single digit at 9.67 per cent for the first time this year at a time when the government is facing a concerted Opposition attack on rising food and fuel prices. Inflation fell by 2.80 percentage points for the week ended July 17 from 12.47 per cent in the previous week, as prices of vegetables, especially potatoes and onions,declined. On a yearly basis, potatoes became cheaper by over 46 per cent and onions by over 10 per cent. Overall vegetable prices fell 14.77 per cent, according to data released by the government today. However, prices of pulses, milk and fruits rose by 21.23 per cent, 19.03 per cent and 12.14 per cent respectively. On a weekly basis, prices of onions fell by 0.66 per cent, while that of potatoes inched up by 2.06 per cent. Overall vegetable prices on a weekly basis went down by 0.34 per cent. On annual basis, rice became costlier by 5.31 per cent though it softened by 0.64 per cent on a week-on-week basis. Similarly, prices of cereals rose by 5.62 per cent on a year-on-year basis, but fell 0.04 per cent week-on-week. Overall inflation, which includes prices of manufactured goods, was 10.55 per cent in June, led by high food prices. Food inflation has remained above the 16 per cent level for most part of the year, before falling sharply to below 13 per cent since mid-June.