New Delhi, May 21 (IANS) Higher prices of tea, fruits, vegetables and spices pushed up India’s annual rate of inflation to 0.61 percent for the week ended May 9 from 0.48 percent the week before, official data on wholesale prices showed Thursday.
The annual rate of inflation had been rising for four consecutive reporting dates since the week ended April 4 when it was at 0.18 percent and touched 0.7 percent for the week ended April 26, before falling to 0.48 percent for the period ended May 2.

Data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed that the index for primary articles rose 0.5 percent during the week and that for manufactured products was up 0.1 percent, while the index for fuels remained unchanged.

The sub-index for food articles rose 0.6 percent, even though prices of urad, barley and maize declined during the week. The sub-index for non-food articles rose 0.4 percent as raw cotton, raw silk and oil seeds became dearer, while prices fell for raw rubber.