India’s wholesale price inflation jumps to 3.18% in March

15 Apr 2019

The annual rate of inflation, based on the wholesale price index (WPI) stood at 3.18 per cent in March 2019 compared to 2.93 per cent in the previous month and 2.74 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Build-up of inflation in the financial year so far was 3.18 per cent compared to a build-up rate of 2.74 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

The official wholesale price index (WPI) for ‘all commodities’ (Base: 2011-12=100) rose by 0.4 per cent in March 2019, provisional estimates released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed.

For the April-September period, the RBI has projected retail inflation at 2.9-3 per cent, mainly due to lower food and fuel prices as well as expectation of a normal monsoon.

Inflation rate for the `primary articles’ group, which has a weight of 22.62 per cent in the wholesale price index rose by 0.4 per cent in March 2019, provisional figures showed.

Among primary articles, inflation rate for the ‘food articles’ group rose by 0.9 per cent while inflation rate for the ‘non-food articles’ group declined by 2.6 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘minerals’ group declined by 1.9 per cent while inflation rate for the 'crude petroleum and natural gas' group rose 3.3 per cent.

Inflation rate for the `fuel and power’ group, which has a weight of 13.15 per cent in WPI, rose 2.3 per cent in March 2019. Inflation rate for the ‘mineral oils’ group rose 4.1 per cent.

Inflation rate for the `manufactured products’ group, which has a weight of 64.23 per cent in the WPI, rose 0.2 per cent in March 2019.

Within the manufactured products group, inflation rate for the ‘food products’ group declined by 0.2 per cent. Inflation rate for the ‘beverages’ group, however, rose by 0.2 per cent.

Inflation rate for the 'tobacco products' group rose 3.2 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘textiles’ group declined by 0.3 per cent and that of the ‘wearing apparel’ group by 0.9 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘leather and related products’ group declined by 0.3 per cent while the inflation rate for the ‘wood and products of wood and cork’ group rose by 0.8 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘paper and paper products’ group declined by 0.2 per cent, while inflation rate for the ‘printing and reproduction of recorded media’ group rose 0.1 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘chemicals and chemical products’ group rose 0.2 per cent while that of the ‘pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products’ group declined by 0.2 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘rubber and plastics products’ group rose 0.5 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘other non-metallic mineral products’ group declined by 0.8 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘basic metals’ group rose 0.5 per cent, while the inflation rate for the ‘fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment)’ group rose 0.4 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘computer, electronic and optical products’ group declined by 0.4 per cent while the inflation rate for the ‘electrical equipment’ group rose 0.1 per cent.

Inflation rate for the 'machinery and equipment' group rose 0.7 per cent while that of the ‘motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers’ group rose 0.2 per cent and that of the 'other transport equipment' group rose 0.3 per cent.

Inflation rate for the ‘furniture’ group declined by 0.2 per cent, while that of the 'other manufacturing' group rose 2.2 per cent.

The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index consisting of ‘food articles’ from the primary articles group and ‘food product’ from manufactured products group, which has a weight of 24.38 per cent in the WPI. increased from 3.29 per cent in February 2019 to 3.89 per cent in March 2019.

The final wholesale price inflation rate for January 2019 based on the revised estimate of the final wholesale price index for ‘all commodities’ remained unchanged at its provisional level of 2.76 per cent.

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