New Delhi, June 4 (PTI): For the first time in the current financial year, the rate of inflation pierced the 5 per cent-mark in the week ended May 22. The spurt was fuelled by a rise in prices of vegetables, wheat, eggs and sugar.

After remaining below 5 per cent for 11 weeks, the point-to-point wholesale price index inflation rose for the second consecutive week by 0.35 per cent to 5.02 per cent, playing a spoil-sport for the small investors as well as corporate India.

Recent data shows that general price level is, more or less, heading towards the 6 per cent-mark though oil prices in the domestic market did not move up due to the public sector refiners’ inability to pass on the higher import prices to the consumers. The index was as high as 6.32 per cent in the year-ago period.

The Reserve Bank, in its lean season credit policy, had stressed that inflation rate was expected to be 5 per cent for this year.

The WPI rose by 0.2 per cent to 181.9 points with all the major commodity groups — primary articles and fuels — moving up. The index was 173.2 points in the year-ago period.

The government has finally revised the inflation rate to 4.64 per cent for the week ended March 27, compared with the provisional level of 4.47 per cent.

The final WPI stood corrected at 180.3 points during the last week of March against the provisional mark of 180 points.

The index of primary articles’ group shot up near 1 per cent to 186.6 points due to a substantial rise in the prices of food articles as well as non-food articles. The index was 180.2 points in the year-ago period.

Food articles’ group index was up by 0.7 per cent to 185.2 points due to higher prices of vegetables (9 per cent), fish-marine (5 per cent), tea (3 per cent), arhar (2 per cent) and jowar, eggs, condiments and spices, barley and wheat (1 per cent each).

However, prices dipped for fish-inland (5 per cent), gram and maize (2 per cent each) and urad (1 per cent).

The index of non-food articles’ group shot up by 1.4 per cent to 193.1 points as prices of soyabean increased by 19 per cent, niger seed by 3 per cent and sunflower and raw cotton by 1 per cent each.

However, fodder prices declined by 9 per cent, cotton seed by 2 per cent and castor seed and gingelly seed by 1 per cent each.