WPI inflation declines to 10.70% in September from 12.41% in August

The annual rate of inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number eased at 10.7 per cent (provisional) for September 2022 as against 12.41 per cent recorded in August 2022. Inflation in September was primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals & chemical products, basic metals, electricity, textiles, etc. WPI measures the price changes of goods that wholesale businesses sell to other businesses. WPI moderation is supported by easing input prices and a higher base. 

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WPI measures the price changes of goods that wholesale businesses sell to and trade in bulk with other businesses. WPI moderation is supported by easing input prices and a higher base.

September is the 18th consecutive month of double-digit WPI inflation. This year, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) touched a record high of 15.88 per cent in May. In August, the WPI was at 12.41 per cent as compared to 14.07 per cent in July, the data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed.

WPI covers a total of 697 items, such as primary articles (117), fuel and power (16), and manufactured products (564). In the new series, a total of 1,176 items in these three categories have been proposed — primary articles (131), fuel and power (19), and manufactured products (1,026).

Under this, inflation in food articles in September eased to 11.03 per cent as compared with 12.37 per cent in August. The manufacturing goods segment recorded a growth of 6.34 per cent. Primary Articles witnessed a growth of 11.73 per cent. But the fuel and power segment, saw a dip as the WPI number came down to 32.61 per cent in September as against 33.67 per cent in August.

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Earlier this week, India’s retail inflation touched 7.41 per cent in September, up from 7 per cent in August, and 6.7 per cent in July mostly as prices of daily consumables like cereals and vegetables, which form the largest category in the inflation basket, surged over the past two years.

In April, May, June, and August, it was above 7 per cent. High CPI will come as a setback to households’ spending power, especially for the poorer sections of our country.

The Narendra Modi government has mandated the central bank to maintain retail inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side for a five-year period ending March 2026.