WPI Inflation: Wholesale Inflation Down To 21-Month Low In November To 5.85%

Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation stood at 8.39 per cent in October and 14.87 percent in November 2021.

India’s wholesale inflation came down to 5.85 per cent in November, a 21-month low, according to data released by the commerce ministry on December 14. Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation stood at 8.39 percent in October and 14.87 percent in November 2021.

The latest Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation is 470 basis points lower than in September. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. 

This is the first time the WPI inflation has been lower than CPI inflation since February last year when WPI was 4.83 percent.

This comes two days after the statistics ministry reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation fell to 5.88 percent in November. For the first time, it had fallen below the 6 percent upper bound of the RBI-mandated range of 2-6 percent.

The decline in rate of inflation in November 2022 is primarily contributed by the fall in prices of
food, basic metals, textiles, chemicals & chemical products, and paper & paper products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

Food inflation fell 2.17 percent in November compared to 6.48 percent in October, with the food index of the WPI declining 1.8 percent month-on-month. Manufactured products inflation also eased to 3.59 percent from 4.42 percent. This is the key sector of WPI as it contributes two-thirds of the entire WPI basket.

Fuel and power inflation fell sharply to 17.35 percent as against 23.17 percent in October. 

Overall, the all-commodity index of the WPI fell by 0.3 percent on a month-on-month basis in November after having posted a similar increase in October.

Vegetable prices were down 20.08 per cent in November, against a rise of 17.61 per cent in October. Onion prices contracted 19.19 per cent from 30.02 per cent a month ago and fruits slipped 1.07 per cent in November from 0.23 per cent in the prior month. Paddy prices eased to 6.45 per cent last month, against 6.63 per cent in October while potato prices dipped to 13.75 per cent from 44.97 per cent. Eggs, meat & fish eased to 2.27 per cent from 3.97 per cent a month ago, the data showed.

Prices of cereals rose to 12.85 per cent last month from 12.03 per cent in October. During the same period, wheat rose to 18.11 per cent from 16.25 per cent and milk price rose to 6.03 per cent from 5.53 per cent.