WPI remains in negative zone for a 17th month in March

India's wholesale price inflation rate remained in the negative zone for the 17th consecutive month in March, declining by an annual 0.85 per cent, on the back of declining prices of manufactured goods and food articles.

The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) stood at (-) 0.85 per cent in March 2016 against (-) 0.91 per cent in the previous month, provisional estimates released by the Central Statistics office (CSO) on Monday showed.

Wholesale price inflation stood at (-) 2.33 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Build up of inflation in the financial year so far was (-) 0.85 per cent compared to a build up rate of (-) 2.33 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Inflation rate for the `primary articles' group, which has a weight of 20.12 per cent in the wholesale price index, declined by 0.2 per cent from the previous month.

Among primary articles, the index for 'food articles' group declined by 0.2 per cent due to lower prices of tea, condiments and spices, gram, arhar, urad, masur, moong, barley, fruits and vegetables, egg and fish. However, the price of poultry chicken, milk, seafood, beef, buffalo meat and pork, bajra, maize and jowar moved up.

Inflation for the 'non-food articles' group rose 0.5 per cent in March 2016 due to higher prices of groundnut seed, soyabean, linseed, cotton seed, fodder (kardi seed) and safflower, sugarcane, raw jute, raw rubber and coir fibre. However, the price of flowers, raw silk, copra (coconut), rape and mustard seed, guar seed, raw cotton, gingelly seed and mesta and castor seed and niger seed declined.

Inflation rate for the `minerals'  group declined by 2.5 per cent due to lower prices of crude petroleum, iron ore, magnesite and chromite. However, the prices of zinc concentrate and sillimanite moved up.

Inflation rate for the 'fuel and power' group, which has a weight of 14.91 per cent in WPI, rose 1.7 per cent in March 2016, due to higher prices of aviation turbine fuel, high speed diesel, furnace oil, kerosene and bitumen. However, the prices of electricity and petrol and LPG declined.

The index for the `manufactured products' group, which has the highest weight of 64.97 per cent in WPI, rose 0.4 per cent in March 2016.

Among manufactured products, inflation for the 'food products' group declined by 0.2 per cent due to lower prices of tea (leaf and dust), mustard and rapeseed oil and gur. However, the prices of gola (cattle feed), processed prawn, canned fish, gingelly oil, tea dust, khandsari, powder milk, rice bran oil, palm oil, cotton seed oil and bakery products moved up.

Inflation rate for the `beverages, tobacco and tobacco products' group rose 1.4 per cent due to higher prices of IMFL, dried tobacco, chewing tobacco and soft drinks and carbonated water and beer. However, the price of zarda declined.

Inflation rate for the 'textiles' group rose 0.1 per cent due to higher prices of jute yarn, jute sacking bag, jute sacking cloth and manmade fabric. However, the price of tyre cord fabric declined.

Inflation rate for the 'wood and wood products' group rose 0.5 per cent due to higher prices of processed wood.

Inflation rate for the 'paper and paper products' group rose by 0.4 per cent due to higher prices of corrugated sheet boxes, newspaper, kraft  paper and bags, cream  laid woven paper and paper rolls.

Inflation rate for the 'leather and leather products' group rose 0.6 per cent due to higher prices of leather and leather footwear.

Inflation rate for the 'rubber and plastic products' group rose 0.4 per cent due to higher prices of tubes and plastic products.

Inflation rate for the 'non-metallic mineral products' group rose 0.3 per cent due to higher prices of polished granite and grey cement. However, the price of railway sleeper declined.

Inflation rate for the 'basic metals, alloys and metal products' group rose 1.8 per cent due to higher prices of GP/GC sheets, rounds, plates and billets,  HRC, melting scrap, wire rods and angles, CRC, gold and gold ornaments, joist and beams and pencil ingots, silver, sponge iron, nuts/bolts/screw/washers and rebars and pig iron.

However, the prices of steel rods, lead, sheets and steel pipes/tubes/rods/strips and steel castings declined.

Inflation rate for the 'machinery and machine tools' group declined by 0.1 per cent due to lower prices of fibre optic cable, fluorescent tubes, PVC insulated cable, electric motors, heat exchanger, industrial  valves, engines, conductor and ball/roller bearing. However, the price of machine tools and insulators moved up.

Inflation rate for the 'transport, equipment and parts' group rose 0.6 per cent due to higher prices of motor cycle, scooter and moped. However, the price of railway brake gear declined.

The final inflation rate for January 2016 based on the revised wholesale price index for all commodities stood at (-) 1.7 per cent against (-) 0.90 per cent (provisional) reported earlier.