The inflation, which may spark another rate hike by the year-end, stood at 15.1 per cent a week ago, data compiled by India’s Commerce Ministry showed.

However, some analysts expect that better farm output will cool down food prices later this year. Food prices may ease as the June-September monsoon rains have been sufficient to expand cultivation, reducing pressure on inflation that has prompted India’s central bank to raise interest rates five times this year, they said.

Rainfall this month has been 122 percent of the 50-year average as of Sept. 14, according to the weather office, in contrast with last year when rains were the least since 1972.

Though signs of moderation had appeared in July and stayed on through the first half of August, this is the fourth consecutive week that the rate of food prices has increased.

Many parts of India, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and Rajasthan have been witnessing torrential rains that have disrupted supplies of staples.

Annually, cereals prices rose 6.75 percent. While prices of pulses rose 4.01 per cent, wheat and rice became costlier by 9.21 percent and 5.52 per cent respectively.

Among other basic food items, milk prices soared 23.41 per cent during the week compared to the same period last year, while fruit prices increased by 10.33 per cent.

While vegetables also became dearer by 6.84 per cent on an annual basis, potato and onions became cheaper by 48.56 and 1.97 per cent respectively.

While the fuel price index remained flat on the week, the primary articles index rose 16.80 per cent, faster than the week-ago increase of 16.22 per cent. The wholesale price index, the most widely watched gauge of prices in India, rose 8.5 percent in August.

Last week, India’s Central Bank said headline inflation had “plateaued,” but predicted that it may remain unacceptably high for some months.

Still, inflation remains the “dominant” concern for the Indian Central Bank and will determine any future rate increases, Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said.

The Reserve Bank of India also boosted the repurchase rate to six percent from 5.75 percent, and the reverse repurchase rate a half point to five percent.

The bank said then its actions have brought the “monetary situation close to normal,” two days after a report showed benchmark wholesale-price inflation slowed to 8.5 percent in August from July’s 9.8 percent pace.

The latest inflation reading and that of the previous week are from a new data series with changed base year, weightings and components and are not comparable with the earlier data.