WPI Inflation Drops To 25-Month Low Of 3.85 Per Cent In February: Govt Data

In January, the WPI inflation figure was 4.73 per cent. This is the lowest since January 2021 when the WPI inflation was 2.51 per cent

Wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation in India eased below the 4 per cent-mark in February and was clocked at 3.85 per cent, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

In January, the WPI inflation figure was 4.73 per cent. This is the lowest since January 2021 when the WPI inflation was 2.51 per cent.

The commerce ministry in a release said, “Decline in the rate of inflation in February, 2023 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of crude petroleum and natural gas, non-food articles, food products, minerals, computer, electronic and optical products, chemicals and chemical products, electrical equipment and motor vehicles, trailers and semitrailers.”

The WPI changed 0.20 per cent on month-on-month (MoM) basis. "The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index decreased from 2.95 per cent in January, 2023 to 2.76 per cent in February, 2023," the ministry said.

On Monday, the consumer price inflation (CPI)-based inflation in India eased marginally to 6.44 per cent in February, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. This is lower than 6.52 per cent in January but still above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper tolerance band of 6 per cent.

According to the government data, the rural inflation was 6.72 per cent and urban inflation was 6.10 per cent. The combined food inflation was also near 6 per cent limit at 5.95 per cent. It was 6 per cent in January.

The data also revealed that inflation in rural areas was higher at 6.72 per cent during the month compared to 6.10 per cent in urban centres.

According to the data, vegetable prices dipped by 11.61 per cent on an annual basis, though it recorded a double-digit increase in spices (20.20 per cent) and cereals and products (16.73 per cent).

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Governor Shaktikanta Das, in February announced a 25 basis point (bps) hike in repo rate to 6.5 per cent. The RBI earlier lowered the CPI forecast to 6.5 per cent for the current fiscal year from 6.7 per cent. Before that in December, the inflation was at a one-year low of 5.72 per cent.