New Delhi, February 11: Food inflation rose for the third straight week to touch 17.94 per cent in January-end, fuelled by costlier potatoes and pulses, but the government was confident that prices of essential items would cool down soon.
Food Inflation rose by 0.38 percentage points during the week ended January 30 from a week ago, prompting analysts to believe that the government may continue with the zero import duty regime for import of food items like wheat, rice, pulses, sugar and edible oils in the Union Budget later this month.
Inflation, which began easing after touching the decade’s high of about 20 per cent in December, rose mainly because cost of potatoes and pulses were up 40.57 per cent and 41.24 per cent, respectively, from the year-ago level.
–PTI