Wholesale price inflation inches up to 0.11% in December

Wholesale price inflation rate, which has slipped to zero per cent in November, has risen slightly to 0.11 per cent in December, in line with a similar rise in retail inflation.

Wholesale price inflation stood at 6.4 per cent in December last year.

Build-up of inflation rate in the financial year so far was - 0.28 per cent,  compared to a build-up of 5.58 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The spike in inflation rate has been due mainly to the rise is the rate of food inflation which recorded 5.2 per cent against 0.63 per cent in November. In fact, the rate of food inflation is highest since August last year.

Wholesale price index for the `primary articles' group, which has a weight of 20.12 per cent in the WPI, declined by 1.3 per cent in December 2014.

Among primary articles, the index for the 'food articles' group declined by 1.9 per cent due to lower price of fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, poultry chicken, bajra, rice and arhar. However, the price of egg, moong, barley and ragi, wheat, gram, maize, masur and condiments and spices moved up.

The index for the 'non-food articles' group rose 0.3 per cent due to higher prices of flowers, niger seed, soyabean and mesta, raw jute and sunflower, rape and mustard seed, linseed and fodder. However, the price of guar seed, copra, gingelly seed, groundnut, raw silk, raw wool, cotton seed and raw rubber declined.

The index for the 'minerals' group declined by 0.5 per cent due to lower prices of barites and phosphorite, crude petroleum, manganese ore and sillimanite and steatite. However, the price of magnesite, zinc concentrate, copper ore and limestone moved up.

The index for the `fuel and power' group, which has a weight of 14.91 per cent in the WPI, declined by 2.4 per cent due to lower price of furnace oil, bitumen, aviation turbine fuel and LPG, petrol and high speed diesel oil and kerosene.

The index for the `manufactured products' group, which has a weight of 64.97 per cent in the WPI, declined by 0.3 per cent.

Among manufactured products, the index for the 'food products' group rose 0.1 per cent due to higher price of mixed spices, tea leaf (blended) and powder milk, bakery products and sugar confectionary, tea leaf (unblended), soyabean oil and canned fish, copra oil and groundnut oil and mustard and rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, oil cakes and gingelly oil.

However, the price of gur, gram powder (besan) and sugar, cotton seed oil, rice bran oil and vanaspati and palm oil, tea dust (blended), tea dust (unblended) and khandsari declined.

The index for the 'textiles' group declined by 0.4 per cent due to lower prices of cotton yarn, tyre cord fabric, woollen textiles and man-made fibre. However, the prices of gunny and hessian cloth and jute yarn moved up.

The index for the 'wood and wood products' group rose 1.4 per cent due to higher price of plywood and fibre board.

The index for the 'paper and paper products' group declined by 0.1 per cent due to lower prices of paper cartons / boxes, paper rolls and corrugated sheet boxes, paper pulp and newspaper.  However, the price of newsprint, books/ periodicals/ journals and laminated paper and kraft  paper and bags moved up.

The index for the 'leather and leather products' group declined by 0.7 per cent due to lower prices of leather footwear. However, the price of leather garments and jackets moved up.

The index for the 'rubber and plastic products' group declined by 0.8 per cent due to lower prices of plastic products and tubes.

The index for the 'chemicals and chemical products' group declined by 0.3 per cent due to lower prices of non-cyclic compound and basic organic chemicals, organic manure, turpentine oil and adhesive and gum. However, the price of ammonium sulphate and ayurvedic medicines, hair / body oils, pesticides, synthetic resin, pigment and pigment intermediates and explosives moved up.

The index for the 'non-metallic mineral products' group declined by 1.7 per cent due to lower prices of white cement, grey cement and marbles, slag cement and lime. However, the price of asbestos corrugated sheet moved up.

The index for the 'basic metals, alloys and metal products' group declined by 0.4 per cent due to lower prices of steel castings, silver, pig iron, melting scrap,  wire rods, angles, pencil ingots and billets and  pipes/tubes/rods/strips, joist and beams, plates, sheets, GP/GC sheets, rebars and metal containers. However, the price of slab, steel structures, zinc and ferro manganese, iron and steel wire, fixtures and gold and  gold ornaments moved up.

The CSO has revised the final inflation rate for October to 1.66 per cent based on the revised index for October, from 1.77 per cent reported earlier.