WPI inflation: India's wholesale inflation surged to 16-month high of 3.36 per cent in June, compared with 2.6 per cent in the previous month, driven by increased prices of food articles, especially vegetables, and manufactured items. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation was recorded at 2.61 per cent in May. In comparison, it was at (-) 4.18 per cent in June 2023.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Monday, "The positive rate of inflation in June 2024 is primarily due to the increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, mineral oils, and other manufacturing sectors."
Data shows that inflation in food articles surged to 10.87 per cent in June, compared to 9.82 per cent in May. Inflation in vegetables spiked to 38.76 per cent in June, up from 32.42 per cent in May. Specifically, onion inflation soared to 93.35 per cent, while potato inflation reached 66.37 per cent. Additionally, pulses inflation rose to 21.64 per cent in June.
In the fuel and power category, inflation stood at 1.03 per cent, slightly lower than 1.35 per cent in May. In manufactured products, inflation climbed to 1.43 per cent in June, up from 0.78 per cent in May.
The rise in June's WPI aligns with the retail inflation data for the month. Retail inflation rose to a four-month high of 5.1 per cent in June, as revealed by data released last week.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) primarily considers retail inflation when formulating monetary policy.
Meanwhile, in June, the year-on-year inflation rate based on the All India Consumer Price Index (CPI) was provisionally reported at 5.08 per cent, driven by high food prices. Rural areas experienced a higher inflation rate of 5.66 per cent, while urban areas had a slightly lower rate of 4.39 per cent, according to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Friday. The retail inflation rate of 5.08 per cent in June is the highest recorded in the past four months.