New Delhi, Jan 19 (IANS): Overall food prices fell for the third straight week year-on-year, led by a sharp drop in the price of vegetables, especially onions and potatoes and wheat, official data showed Thursday.

Annual food inflation slipped to -0.42 percent for the week ended Jan 7 as compared to -2.9 percent and -3.36 percent consecutively in the previous two weeks.

Food inflation had dipped into the negative for the week ended Dec 24, for the first time in six years, giving relief to the common man and policymakers.

Vegetables became cheaper by 45.81 percent year-on-year. Onion prices dipped by 75.42 percent while the price of potato was 23.84 percent less than the price recorded during the corresponding period of last year.

Wheat price was lower by 3.57 percent year-on-year during the week under review.

However, inflation in overall primary articles, which has a 20.12 percent weightage in the wholesale price index, accelerated to 2.47 percent for the week under review as compared to 0.51 percent in the previous week, according to data from the ministry of commerce and industry.

Fuel and power inflation remained unchanged at 14.45 percent.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Wednesday that overall inflation would come down in the range of 6 to 7 percent by March-end.

The headline inflation based on the wholesale price index fell to a two-year low of 7.47 percent in December, compared to 9.11 percent in the previous month, according to the data released early this week.

The following are the yearly rise and fall in prices in the week under review of some main commodities that form the sub-index for food articles:

Onions: (-) 75.42 percent

Vegetables: (-) 45.81 percent

Fruits: 10.03 percent

Potatoes: (-) 23.84 percent

Eggs, meat, fish: 19.64 percent

Cereals: 2.26 percent

Rice: 1.41 percent

Wheat: (-) 3.57 percent

Pulses: 14.27 percent