Food inflation fell sharply by 2 percentage points to 10.3 per cent for the week ended November 6 from 12.3 per cent in the previous week, raising hopes that overall inflation may decline to around 6 per cent by the end of the year, as predicted by the government.

Inflation stood at 13.99 per cent in the corresponding period last year. This is the first time in a long time that food inflation for a particular period was lower than the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

The decline may prompt RBI to halt its monetary tightening drive to boost industrial growth, which had fallen to a 16-month low of 4.4 per cent in September.

The price of most food items declined during the week on improved availability after the end of the monsoon. Even onions, which have become quite expensive due to crop damage in the major producing state of Maharashtra, rose by just 0.63 per cent during the week under review.

On a yearly basis, however, the price of protein-based food items became significantly costlier. While the price of eggs, meat and fish rose by over 33 per cent, milk prices jumped by more than 25 per cent and pulses rates shot up by 19.4 per cent.

Furthermore, wheat prices rose by over 11 per cent.

Besides food items, minerals became over 27 per cent costlier on a yearly basis for the week ended November 6.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had exuded confidence that overall inflation will come down to 6 per cent by the end of this year.