Inflation in April dips to 9.59 per cent

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at 9.9 per cent in March this year.
The marginal drop in the overall inflation is primarily due to  decline in prices of fruits, onions, wheat and cereals.

According to the monthly inflation data, potato prices fell 28.70 per cent in April, and onion prices dropped 11.62 per cent.  Iron and steel prices rose by 11.40 per cent in April compared to March. Sugar prices dropped by 5.74 per cent on monthly basis, but turned costlier compared to last year.

The food inflation had shot up by 20 per cent—the highest ever in recent years—in December last year. The RBI has projected the overall inflation to touch 8.5 per cent by the end of 2009-10.