WPI inflation hits 14-month high of 4.43% in May

In a bigger shock, India’s inflation on wholesale level jumped in the month of May to hit 14-month high, continuing firming trend for second straight month. This sharp hike in the May wholesale price inflation (WPI) is in line with acceleration of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the same month, on the back of higher fuel and food articles prices. According to the latest data released by the government, WPI climbed to 4.43 percent in May 2018 from 3.18 percent in April 2018 and 2.26 percent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 1.38 percent compared to a build up rate of -0.27 percent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62 percent, surged 1.1 percent to 130.6 (provisional) from 129.2 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for ‘Food Articles’ group gained 0.2 percent to 140.1 (provisional) from 139.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Minerals’ group rose by 13.7 percent to 138.3 (provisional) from 121.6 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas’ group jumped by 7.3 percent to 88.1 (provisional) from 82.1 (provisional) for the previous month.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15 percent, was up by 2.2 percent to 101.1 (provisional) from 98.9 (provisional) for the previous month, due to rising Mineral Oils prices.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23 percent moved up by 0.6 percent to 116.8 (provisional) from 116.1 (provisional) for the previous month. Among these, the index for ‘Manufacture of Beverages’ group rose by 0.3 percent to 119.5 (provisional) from 119.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Tobacco Products’ group surged 2.5 percent to 149.7 (provisional) from 146.0 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ group was up by 1.0 percent to 115.5 (provisional) from 114.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ group increased by 1.2 percent to 141.0 (provisional) from 139.3 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood and Cork ‘ group soared 1.3 percent to 133.3 (provisional) from 131.6 (provisional) for the previous month.

The index for ‘Manufacture of Paper and Paper Products’ group rose by 0.2 percent to 121.0 (provisional) from 120.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media’ group jumped 1.2 percent to 146.6 (provisional) from 144.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products’ group was up by 0.8 percent to 117.3 (provisional) from 116.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products’ group moved up by 1.0 percent to 121.6 (provisional) from 120.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Rubber and Plastics Products’ group edged higher by 0.3 percent to 108.5 (provisional) from 108.2 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products’ group rose by 0.4 percent to 115.7 (provisional) from 115.2 (provisional) for the previous month.

Further, the index for ‘Manufacture of Basic Metals’ group was up by 1.9 percent to 112.2 (provisional) from 110.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Equipment’ group increased by 0.9 percent to 112.7 (provisional) from 111.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Electrical Equipment’ group rose by 0.5 percent to 111.3 (provisional) from 110.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Other Transport Equipment’ group edged higher by 0.3 percent to 110.5 (provisional) from 110.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Furniture’ group surged 1.5 percent to 125.1 (provisional) from 123.3 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Other Manufacturing’ group soared 1.5 percent to 106.9 (provisional) from 105.3 (provisional) for the previous month.

On the flip side, the index for ‘Manufacture of Food Products’ group was down by 0.3 percent to 127.2 (provisional) from 127.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Leather and Related Products’ group declined by 0.2 percent to 121.7 (provisional) from 122.0 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment’ group fell 0.5 percent to 109.9 (provisional) from 110.4 (provisional) for the previous month.