Rise in prices of potato, pulses, egg and fruit and vegetables has pushed up food inflation to 17.40 percent for the week ending January 16, from 16.81 percent in the previous week. The measurement is based on wholesale price index.

Potato prices rose as much as 57.56 percent over the last year, followed by prices of pulses which jumped by 46.87 percent.
On weekly basis, the price index for food articles rose by 0.4 per cent on account of higher prices of egg (6 percent) and fruit and vegetables (1 percent).

The inflation for primary articles, which include food and non-food items, stood at 14.66 per cent in the same period.