Tags: Food Inflation | Wholesale Price Index

Halting the fortnight long downward movement, food inflation inched up marginally to 10.86 per cent for the week ended August 21 from 10.05 per cent a week ago, mainly owing to higher prices of cereals, fruits and milk.

The fact that food inflation during the like week a year ago was at 14.86 per cent provides no comfort to the common man as the availability of cheaper vegetables, especially potatoes and onions, was more than offset by the high prices of these three essential items.

The silver lining, however, is that the food price spiral will stabilise in the months ahead on expectations of good kharif crops following adequate monsoon rains and may even slide to a low of 6 per cent by the end of December, as is being projected in certain official quarters such as the Planning Commission as also some economic analysts.

Tags: Christchurch earthquake

A state of emergency was declared Saturday after Christchurch, the biggest city in New Zealand’s South Island, was extensively damaged by a massive 7.1-magnitude earthquake that flattened buildings, ripped up roads and cut power, water and sewage connections.

The quake, centred only 10 kilometres underground, was one of the biggest to hit a population centre in one of the world’s most earthquake-prone countries in the last century.

Miraculously, only two serious injuries were reported so far.

Officials said mass casualties were avoided because the quake struck at 4.35 am when most people were still asleep.