India’s WPI inflation rises to 4-month high of 5.28% in October

Showing contradictory picture on inflation, India’s Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation rose to 4-month high in October, even though retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) softened to a one-year low of 3.31 percent in the same month. According to the latest data released by the government, WPI surged to 5.28 percent in October from 5.13 percent in September and 3.68 percent during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 4.64% compared to a build up rate of 2.12% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Component wise, primary articles index having weight of 22.62 percent, rose by 0.7 percent to 136.3 (provisional) from 135.4 (provisional) for the previous month. Among the primary articles, the index for ‘Food Articles’ group surged 0.9 percent to 145.8 (provisional) from 144.5 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for 'Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas' group increased 4.1 percent to 99.8 (provisional) from 95.9 (provisional) for the previous month. On the flip side, the index for ‘Non-Food Articles’ group fell 1.1 percent to 123.4 (provisional) from 124.8 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Minerals’ group declined by 4.3 percent to 129.4 (provisional) from 135.2 (provisional) for the previous month.

Fuel & Power index, having weight of 13.15 percent, was up by 3.6 percent to 111.1 (provisional) from 107.2 (provisional) for the previous month.

Manufactured Products constituting the major portion of the index with weight of 64.23 percent, rose by 0.3 percent to 118.8 (provisional) from 118.5 (provisional) for the previous month. Among these, the index for ‘Manufacture of Food Products’ group surged 0.1 percent to 129.5 (provisional) from 129.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Beverages’ group rose by 0.4 percent to 120.9 (provisional) from 120.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Tobacco Products’ group was up by 0.7 percent to 150.6 (provisional) from 149.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ group rose by 0.1 percent to 119.0 (provisional) from 118.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ group rose by 0.7 percent to 139.6 (provisional) from 138.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Paper and Paper Products’ group rose by 0.6 percent to 123.9 (provisional) from 123.1 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products’ group jumped 0.9 percent to 120.4 (provisional) from 119.3 (provisional) for the previous month.

Besides, the index for ‘Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals, Medicinal Chemical and Botanical Products’ group soared 0.9 percent to 124.3 (provisional) from 123.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Rubber and Plastics Products’ group rose by 0.5 percent to 110.1 (provisional) from 109.6 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Basic Metals’ group increased 0.7 percent to 114.6 (provisional) from 113.8 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Fabricated Metal Products, Except Machinery and Equipment’ group rose by 0.4 percent to 115.7 (provisional) from 115.2 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Machinery and Equipment’ group surged 0.1 percent to 111.4 (provisional) from 111.3 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Other Transport Equipment’ group rose by 0.5 percent to 112.0 (provisional) from 111.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Furniture’ group rose by 1.5 percent to 127.3 (provisional) from 125.4 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Other Manufacturing’ group was up by 0.1 percent to 107.1 (provisional) from 107.0 (provisional) for the previous month.

On the other hand, the index for ‘Manufacture of Leather and Related Products’ group fell 0.8 percent to 122.0 (provisional) from 123.0 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Wood and of Products of Wood and Cork’ group declined by 0.7 percent to 132.7 (provisional) from 133.7 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Printing and Reproduction of Recorded Media’ group decreased 1.0 percent to 146.9 (provisional) from 148.4 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Other Non-Metallic Mineral Products’ group declined by 0.1 percent to 115.8 (provisional) from 115.9 (provisional) for the previous month, the index for ‘Manufacture of Computer, Electronic and Optical Products’ group declined by 0.1 percent to 112.9 (provisional) from 113.0 (provisional) for the previous month and the index for ‘Manufacture of Electrical Equipment’ group was down by 0.2 percent to 111.6 (provisional) from 111.8 (provisional) for the previous month.