The decline in prices of food items, such as fruit and vegetables, brought the consumer price index (CPI) down by 0.44 per cent month-on-month in December 2011.
Based on retail prices, the CPI stood at 113.9 points in December compared with 114.4 points in November, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Wednesday.
“This broad-based index reflects the changes in the prices of goods and services consumed by the rural and urban population ... The annual inflation rates would be available at the time of release of indices for January 2012,” said the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Statistics & Programme Implementation, Mr Srikant Jena, who released the monthly provisional CPI on base 2010=100, compiled by the Central Statistics Office.
The indices for January are scheduled to be released on February 21.
At the all-India level, the CPI for ‘food, beverages and tobacco' declined by 1.31 per cent to 112.8 points in December from 114.3 points in November.
The decline was mainly because of lower vegetable prices, which saw a fall of 15.01 per cent month-on-month to 98.5 points. The fruit index also fell by 3.78 per cent to 122.2 points. The index for condiments and spices went down by 0.64 per cent to 123.9 points.
The indices for cereals and pulses were stable at 107.2 points and 102.5 points.
However, the index for clothing, bedding and footwear was up 122.2 points on all-India basis, against 121.5 points in November.
Prices in the ‘fuel and light' segment rose 0.33 per cent in December vis-a-vis November, with the index rising to 120 points from 119.6 points in November.
The index for ‘housing' was also up 1.17 per cent month-on-month at 112.2 points in December in comparison to 110.9 points in the previous month. The housing data was compiled only for urban areas.
Miscellaneous items rose by 0.09 per cent in December, with the index rising to 112.8 points from 112.7 points in November.