Inflation fell for the second consecutive month by 0.04 percentage point to 8.58 per cent in October. It stood at 8.62 per cent in September this year. While food inflation was at the elevated level of 14.13 per cent, inflation on manufactured items stood at a comfortable 4.75 per cent. Most food product prices either declined or showed moderate increases in October. Onion rates shot up by 24.07 per cent during the month, as crops in parts of Maharashtra were damaged due to torrential rains. The fall in inflation in October is significant, since the base was quite low a year ago at 1.48 per cent.