WPI inflation eases to 3.58% in December from 3.93% in November

In a pleasant surprise, India's inflation on wholesale level eased in the month of December, supported by lower food articles and minerals prices. This decline in the December WPI is in contrast to a sharp acceleration of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month. According to the latest data released by the government, the wholesale price inflation (WPI) stood at 3.58 per cent (provisional) in December as against 3.93 per cent (provisional) for the previous month and 2.10 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.21 per cent compared to a build up rate of 3.71 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year. Meanwhile, for the month of October 2017, the final WPI index was revised upward to 3.68 percent from 3.59 percent (provisional).

Component wise, primary articles index, having weight of 22.62%, soared 2.9 percent to 131.7 (provisional) from 135.6 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for ‘Food Articles’ group declined by 4.3 percent to 144.1 (provisional) from 150.6 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Minerals’ group decreased by 5.4 percent to 122.3 (provisional) from 129.3 (provisional) for the previous month. On the flip side, the index for ‘Non-Food Articles’ group rose by 1.8 percent to 119.0 (provisional) from 116.9 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas’ group surged by 4.8 percent to 78.1 (provisional) from 74.5 (provisional) for the previous month.

Fuel & Power index having weight of 13.15%, moved up by 1.6 percent to 96.5 (provisional) from 95.0 (provisional) for the previous month, on the back of rise in Coal and Mineral Oils prices.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23% increased by 0.1 percent to 114.0 (provisional) from 113.9 (provisional) for the previous month. The index for ‘Manufacture of Beverages’ group grew 0.2 percent to 119.7 (provisional) from 119.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ group bounced by 1.0 percent to 138.9 (provisional) from 137.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Leather and Related Products’ group rose by 0.7 percent to 120.3 (provisional) from 119.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Paper and Paper Products’ group  was up by 0.3 percent to 118.4 (provisional) from 118.1 (provisional) for the previous month, The index for ‘Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media’ group surgedby 0.8 percent to 143.7 (provisional) from 142.5 (provisional) for the previous month

Besides, the index for ‘Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products’ group was up by 0.5 percent to 112.8 (provisional) from 112.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products’ group rallied 1.2 percent to 123.1 (provisional) from 121.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of other Non-Metallic Mineral Products’ group rose by 0.2 percent to 111.6 (provisional) from 111.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Basic Metals’ group increased by 1.0 percent to 102.0 (provisional) from 101.0 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Computer, Electronic and Optical Products’ group  was up by 0.4 percent to 110.7 (provisional) from 110.3 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Other Manufacturing’ group jumped by 2.8 percent to 111.7 (provisional) from 108.7 (provisional) for the previous month

On the flip side, the index for ‘Manufacture of Food Products’ group fell 0.4 percent to 127.4 (provisional) from 127.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Tobacco Products’ group declined by 2.1 percent to 152.1 (provisional) from 155.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ group decreased by 0.4 percent to 113.0 (provisional) from 113.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood and Cork’ group was down by 1.0 percent to 130.3 (provisional) from 131.6 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Rubber and Plastics Products’ group declined by 0.1 percent to 107.5 (provisional) from 107.6 (provisional) for the previous month.

Further, the index for ‘Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Equipment’ group decreased by 0.2 percent to 110.9 (provisional) from 111.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment’ group was down by 0.2 percent to 109.2 (provisional) from 109.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers and Semi-Trailers’ group declined by 0.1 percent to 110.3 (provisional) from 110.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Other Transport Equipment’ group fell  0.2 percent to 110.6 (provisional) from 110.8 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Furniture’ group declined by 2.0 percent to 120.1 (provisional) from 122.5 (provisional) for the previous month.