India’s annual wholesale price-based inflation declined to 15.18 per cent in June, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.
According to the data, WPI inflation was 15.88 per cent in May 2022. June’s figure was lower than the forecast of 15.50 per cent in a Reuters poll of analysts, and compared to 12.07 per cent in June 2021.
The WPI inflation has remained in the double digits for the 15th consecutive month beginning April 2021.
In a news release the government said, "The high rate of inflation in June, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals and chemical-based products, food products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year."
According to the data, the food basket saw a surge of 14.39 per cent in June. In the month prior to that, the figure was 12.34 per cent. The month-on-month rise can be attributed to a rise in vegetable prices. Vegetable prices rose 56.75 per cent in June, against 56.36 per cent in May, the data showed.
The fuel and power segment eased to 40.38 per cent last month from 40.62 per cent in May. Petrol price eased to 57.82 per cent from 58.78 per cent month ago, High-Speed Diesel sank to 54.93 per cent from 65.23 per cent, while LPG prices spiked to 53.20 per cent from 47.71 per cent.
Prices of fruits witnessed a spike of 20.33 per cent last month from 9.98 per cent in May, while that of milk rose 6.35 per cent from 5.81 per cent a month ago. On the other hand, eggs, meat, and fish prices posted 7.24 per cent in June down from 7.78 per cent a month ago, while cereals registered 7.99 per cent last month, easing marginally from 8.01 per cent.