Wholesale inflation hits 22-month low of 2.45% in May

India’s Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation continued its easing trend for second straight month and hit 22-month low of 2.45% in the month of May 2019, the lowest level since July 2017, as prices of food articles cooled down. As per the data of Ministry of Commerce & Industry, WPI for All Commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) for the month of May, 2019 stood at 2.45% (provisional) as compared to 3.07% (provisional) for the previous month and 4.78% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 1.08% compared to a build up rate of 1.72% in the corresponding period of the previous year. Besides, the wholesale inflation for March is revised downward to 3.10% from 3.18%.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62% rose by 0.2% to 139.5 (provisional) from 139.2 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for ‘Food Articles’ group remained unchanged at its previous month level of 150.1. The index for ' Non-Food Articles' group rose by 0.9% to 127.8 (provisional) from 126.7 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas' group jumped 3.5% to 92.8 (provisional) from 89.7 (provisional) for the previous month, while the index for 'Minerals' group declined by 4.2% to 138 (provisional) from 144 (provisional) for the previous month.

Besides, 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 4.95% in April, 2019 to 5.10% in May, 2019. Moreover, Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, inched up by 0.6% to 103.4 (provisional) from 102.8 (provisional) for the previous month.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, rose by 0.1% to 118.4 (provisional) from 118.3 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the items in the group, the index for 'Manufacture of Food Products' group rose by 0.4% to 129.2 (provisional) from 128.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Textiles' group rose by 0.3% to 119.7 (provisional) from 119.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Wearing Apparel' group rose by 0.5% to 139.2 (provisional) from 138.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood and Cork ' group rose by 0.5% to 134.3 (provisional) from 133.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media' group rose by 0.5% to 148.3 (provisional) from 147.5 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products' group rose by 0.9% to 125.5 (provisional) from 124.4 (provisional) for the previous month.

The index for 'Manufacture of Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products' group rose by 1.4% to 118.4 (provisional) from 116.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Computer, Electronic and Optical Products' group rose by 0.4% to 111.4 (provisional) from 111 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment' group rose by 0.5% to 112.7 (provisional) from 112.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers and Semi-Trailers' group rose by 0.3% to 113.3 (provisional) from 113 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Other Transport Equipment' group rose by 1.2% to 114.8 (provisional) from 113.4 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Manufacture of Furniture' group rose by 0.1% to 129.4 (provisional) from 129.3 (provisional) for the previous month.

On the other hand, the index for 'Manufacture of Beverages' group declined by 0.2% to 122.5 (provisional) from 122.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Tobacco Products' group declined by 1.6% to 152.1 (provisional) from 154.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture Of Leather And Related Products' group declined by 0.9% to 119.7 (provisional) from 120.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture Of Paper And Paper Products' group declined by 0.2% to 123.5 (provisional) from 123.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Rubber And Plastics Products' group declined by 1% to 109.2 (provisional) from 110.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Basic Metals' group declined by 0.8% to 109.7 (provisional) from 110.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery And Equipment' group declined by 0.3% to 116.9 (provisional) from 117.2 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Other Manufacturing' group declined by 0.1% to 106.3 (provisional) from 106.4 (provisional) for the previous month.