Wholesale price inflation sharply up at 1.88% in July
14 Aug 2017
India's wholesale price inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) rose sharply to 1.88 per cent in July from 0.90 per cent in the previous month, provisional data released today showed.
Inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) was 0.63 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.
Build-up of inflation rate in the financial year so far was lower at 0.62 per cent compared to a build-up rate of 3.81 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
The sudden spurt in inflation is attributed more to the seasonal spike in vegetable prices, which rose 21.95 per cent year-on-year in July 2017, while prices of food articles rose 2.15 per cent during the month.
Inflation rate for the primary articles group, which has a weight of 22.62 per cent in the wholesale price index rose by 4.3 per cent in July 2017.
Within the primary articles group, inflation rate for the 'food articles' group rose 6.2 per cent due to higher prices of fruits and vegetables, peas, ragi, barley, paddy condiments and spices and poultry. However, the prices of betel leaves, masur, urad and tea, arhar, moong, bajra, maize and gram, fish and jowar declined.
Inflation rate for the 'non-food articles' group rose 0.6 per cent due to higher prices of raw rubber, safflower (kardi seed), fodder, floriculture and copra (coconut) and mesta, rape and mustard seed and castor seed. However, the prices of groundnut seed, raw silk and raw jute, guar seed and sunflower and cotton seed and gingelly seed (sesamum) declined.
Inflation rate for the 'minerals' group rose 2.8 per cent due to higher prices of manganese ore, sillimanite and bauxite, chromite and copper concentrate and limestone. However, the price of lead concentrate, zinc concentrate, phosphorite and iron ore declined.
Inflation rate for the 'crude petroleum and natural gas' group declined by 7.8 per cent due to lower price of crude petroleum.
Inflation rate for the `fuel and power' group, which has a weight of 13.15 per cent in the wholesale price index, declined by 1.4 per cent in July 2017.
Within the group, inflation rate for the 'mineral oils' group declined by 2.8 per cent due to lower prices of naphtha, ATF, furnace oil, petrol, bitumen and LPG and HSD. However, the price of petroleum coke moved up.
Inflation rate for the `manufactured products' group, which has the highest weight of 64.23 per cent in the wholesale price index, rose by 0.2 per cent in July 2017.
Within the group, inflation rate for the 'manufacture of food products' group rose 0.2 per cent due to higher prices of cocoa and chocolate, sugar confectionery, salt, butter, processed tea, cotton seed oil, copra oil, health supplements, powder milk, rice products, sunflower oil and ghee. However, the prices of instant coffee, processed and preserved fish, crustaceans and molluscs ans products thereof, buffalo meat (fresh/frozen), wheat bran, gram powder, bagasse, groundnut oil, spices (including mixed spices), manufacture of prepared animal feeds, molasses, mustard oil, processed and preserved fruit and vegetables, macaroni, noodles, couscous and similar farinaceous products, wheat flour (atta) and manufacture of starches and starch products declined.
The rate of inflation based on WPI food index consisting of 'food articles' from primary articles group and 'food product' from manufactured products group increased from (-) 1.25 percent in June 2017 to 2.12 percent in July 2017.
The final inflation rate for May 2017 based on the revised (final) wholesale price index for 'all commodities' (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 2.26 per cent against the 2.17 per cent (provisional) as reported on 14 June 2017.
