Wholesale Inflation Softens: WPI Drops To 1.31% In August

After the release of the consumer price index numbers recently, the authorities have now released the data for wholesale inflation in India for the month of August. As per the data released, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the previous month stood at 1.31 per cent.

WPI Dips In August

This is much lower than the WPI rate for the month of July. In the seventh of the year, the wholesale inflation stood at 2.04 per cent.

These numbers complement the consumer price index numbers for August. The combined (rural and urban) inflation for August stood at 3.65 per cent, below the RBI target of 4 per cent.

When we take a look at specifics. This drop in WPI rate was powered by drop in rates of primary articles, along with fuel and power. As per the data, the wholesale rate of primary article stood at 3.08 per cent in July. This number saw a drop in August, when, the rate slipped to 2.42 per cent.

Rate of Inflation for Fuel and Power at -0.67%

In addition, fuel and power also a major difference. The rate on fuel and power for the month of August stood at -0.67 per cent. The distinction is stark compared to July, when the rate for the said product stood at 1.72 per cent.

The year-on-year difference is even greater. The WPI number for primary article in August of 2023 stood at 6.73 per cent.

Here, amongst the primary articles, when we look at some of the crucial aspects, we see that rate of inflation for potato, a staple in most of the country stood at 77.96 per cent in August. For onion another crucial staple, the rate stood at 65.75 per cent. For milk, the rate stood at 3.51 per cent. For egg, fish and meat, the rate stood at -0.69 per cent.

For LPG it stood at 14.40 per cent. Meanwhile, for petrol, the rate of inflation stood at -4.23 per cent.