India’s WPI inflation cools to 1.08% in July

In a positive surprise, India’s Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation fell to a multi-year low of 1.08% in the month of July, on account of cheaper fuel and food items. According to the latest data released by the government, WPI slowed down to 1.08% (provisional) in July, 2019 as compared to 2.02% (provisional) for the previous month and 5.27% 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 3.1% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62%, rose by 0.5% to 142.1 (provisional) from 141.4 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for 'Food Articles' group rose by 1.3% to 153.7 (provisional) from 151.7 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ' Non-Food Articles' group rose by 0.1% to 128.8 (provisional) from 128.7 (provisional) for the previous month. However, the index for 'Minerals' group declined by 2.9% to 153.4 (provisional) from 158 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas' group declined by 6.1% to 86.9 (provisional) from 92.5 (provisional) for the previous month.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15%, declined by 1.5% to 100.6 (provisional) from 102.1 (provisional) for the previous month.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23%, declined by 0.3% to 118.1 (provisional) from 118.4 (provisional) for the previous month. Among these, the index for 'Manufacture of Beverages' group declined by 0.1% to 123.2 (provisional) from 123.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Tobacco Products' group declined by 1% to 153.6 (provisional) from 155.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Wearing Apparel' group declined by 1.2% to 137.1 (provisional) from 138.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Leather and Related Products' group declined by 0.8% to 118.3 (provisional) from 119.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood And Cork' group declined by 0.3% to 134.2 (provisional) from 134.6 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Manufacture of Paper and Paper Products' group declined by 0.3% to 122.3 (provisional) from 122.7 (provisional) for the previous month.

Besides, the index for 'Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products' group declined by 0.4% to 118.8 (provisional) from 119.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products' group declined by 0.6% to 117.5 (provisional) from 118.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Basic Metals' group declined by 1.3% to 107.3 (provisional) from 108.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery And Equipment' group declined by 1.4% to 114.8 (provisional) from 116.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Electrical Equipment' group declined by 0.5% to 111.3 (provisional) from 111.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Motor Vehicles, Trailers and Semi-Trailers' group declined by 0.1% to 114 (provisional) from 114.1 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Manufacture of Other Transport Equipment' group declined by 0.4% to 116.4 (provisional) from 116.9 (provisional) for the previous month.

On the flip side, the index for 'Manufacture of Food Products' group rose by 0.4% to 130.9 (provisional) from 130.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media ' group rose by 1% to 150.1 (provisional) from 148.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products' group rose by 0.6% to 126.2 (provisional) from 125.5 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Rubber and Plastics Products' group rose by 0.1% to 109.2 (provisional) from 109.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment' group rose by 0.4% to 113.5 (provisional) from 113.1 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for 'Manufacture of Furniture' group rose by 0.2% to 128.7 (provisional) from 128.4 (provisional) for the previous month and The index for 'Other Manufacturing' group rose by 2% to 108.3 (provisional) from 106.2 (provisional) for the previous month.