The overall inflation in March eased to 6.89 per cent on account of sharp decline in prices of onions, fruits and protein-based items, even as vegetables and pulses turned costlier. Inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index, WPI was 6.95 per cent in February. In March last year, it was 9.68 per cent. As per the official data released today, inflation in food items was 9.94 per cent in March, as against 6.07 per cent in February. Onion prices declined by 24.23 per cent in March. The rate of decline was 48.50 per cent in February. Food articles have 14.3 per cent share in the WPI basket.The manufactured goods showed moderation in inflation to 4.87 per cent, from 5.75 per cent. This may have a bearing on the annual monetary policy to be announced by the Reserve bank tomorrow. Inflation in overall primary articles rose sharply to 9.62 per cent in March, from 6.28 per cent in February. Inflation in the fuel and power segment was 10.41 per cent on an annual basis. Meanwhile, The headline inflation number for January was revised upwards to 6.89 per cent, up from the provisional estimate of 6.55 per cent.