The Prices of essential commodities like wheat and pulses have shown a steady declining trend while that of rice, edible oils and some vegetables have been on the rise in the recent past. Retail prices of essential commodities have shown a steady declining trend in the case of wheat, flour, pulses such as tur dal, urad dal, moong dal, masoor dal and sugar. Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the prices of rice, edible oils, vegetables such as potato and onion have shown an increasing trend over the past six months as observed in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.