The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) for the month of May 2018 rose by 0.9 per cent to 117.9 (provisional) from 116.8 (provisional) for the previous month.
Inflation
The annual rate of inflation, based on the monthly WPI, stood at 4.43 per cent (provisional) for the month of May 2018 (over May 2017) as compared to 3.18 per cent (provisional) for the previous month and 2.26 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year. The build-up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 1.38 per cent compared to a build up rate of -0.27 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Inflation for important commodities/commodity groups is indicated in Annex-1 and Annex-II.
The movement of the index for the various commodity groups is summarised below:
Primary articles (Weight 22.62 per cent)
The index for this major group rose by 1.1 per cent to 130.6 (provisional) from 129.2 (provisional) for the previous month.
The groups and items which showed variations during the month are as follows:
The index for the food articles group rose by 0.2 per cent to 140.1 (provisional) from 139.8 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of fish-marine (eight per cent), poultry chicken (four per cent), egg and peas/chawali (three per cent each), fish-inland (two per cent) and moong, bajra, barley, paddy, wheat and arhar (one per cent each).
However, the price of betel leaves (six per cent), coffee (four per cent), tea (three per cent), gram, urad and fruits and vegetables (two per cent each) and ragi, jowar and pork (one per cent each) declined.
Manufactured products (Weight 64.23 per cent)
The index for this major group rose by 0.6 per cent to 116.8 (provisional) from 116.1 (provisional) for the previous month.
The groups and items which showed variations during the month are as follows:
The index for the manufacture of food products group declined by 0.3 per cent to 127.2 (provisional) from 127.6 (provisional) for the previous month due to the lower prices of molasses (20 per cent), sugar (four per cent), powder milk, gram powder (besan) and salt (three per cent each), spices (including mixed spices), manufacture of macaroni, noodles, couscous and similar farinaceous products and instant coffee (two per cent each) and castor oil, vanaspati, manufacture of starches and starch products, wheat bran, ghee, buffalo meat, fresh/frozen, manufacture of processed ready-to-eat food, manufacture of health supplements, rice (non-basmati), bagasse and chicken/duck, dressed – fresh/frozen (one per cent each).
However, the price of rice products (six per cent), copra oil (four per cent), rice bran oil and coffee powder with chicory (three per cent each), ice cream, honey and palm oil (two per cent each) and gur, sunflower oil, butter, processed tea, processing and preserving of fruit and vegetables, mustard oil, rapeseed oil and groundnut oil (one per cent each) moved up.
The index for the manufacture of beverages group rose by 0.3 per cent to 119.5 (provisional) from 119.2 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of bottled mineral water (two per cent) and rectified spirit and aerated drinks/soft drinks (including soft drink concentrates) (one per cent each). However, the price of country liquor (two per cent) declined.
WPI Food Index (Weight 24.38 per cent)
The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index consisting of food articles from the primary articles group and food products from the manufactured products group increased from 0.67 per cent in April 2018 to 1.12 per cent in May 2018.
Final index for the month of March 2018 (Base year: 2011-12=100)
For the month of March 2018, the final Wholesale Price Index for all commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 116.3 as compared to 116 (provisional) and the annual rate of inflation based on the final index stood at 2.74 per cent as compared to 2.47 per cent (provisional), respectively, as reported on April 16, 2018.
