Indian headline inflation fell to 9.97 percent in July from 10.55 percent in June on minor decline in manufactured product prices and high base in the same period of last year, said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Monday
The 9.97 percent of year-on-year growth of wholesale price index snapped double-digit inflation in previous five months and was lower than economists' average prediction of 10.39 percent.
The price index of manufactured products declined 0.1 percent in July from the previous month thanks to lower prices of processed food products, textiles, paper products, rubber and plastic products, non-metallic mineral products, basic metals alloys and metal products.
The decline in manufactured products prices, echoing to the lower-than-expected industrial output growth of 7.1 percent in June, is expected to bring some relief to Indian central bank's concern on generalized inflation from the manufacturing sector.
Still, the prices of primary articles sector and fuel, power and lubricant sector rose 1.9 percent and 3.2 percent from June.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stressed his government is making every possible effort to tackle high inflation in a speech on the 63rd Indian Independence Day on August 15.
Indian officials have predicted that the headline inflation would come down to around 6 percent by the end of 2010 with the help of normal crop output in the summer season.