WPI inflation surges to 16-month high

New Delhi: Wholesale inflation in India soared to a 16-month high of 3.36 per cent in June, driven by rising prices of food articles, particularly vegetables, and manufactured items. This marks the fourth consecutive month of increasing inflation, with the wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation recorded at 2.61 per cent in May and -4.18 per cent in June 2023.

In February 2023, wholesale inflation had peaked at 3.85 per cent.

“The positive rate of inflation in June 2024 is primarily due to increases in the prices of food articles, manufactured food products, crude petroleum and natural gas, mineral oils, and other manufacturing sectors,” the Ministry of Commerce & Industry stated on Monday.

According to the data, inflation in food articles rose to 10.87 per cent in June from 9.82 per cent in May. Inflation in vegetables jumped to 38.76 per cent in June, up from 32.42 per cent in May. Notably, onion inflation surged to 93.35 per cent, while potato inflation reached 66.37 per cent during the month. Pulses inflation also increased to 21.64 per cent in June.

Inflation in other food items like fruits stood at 10.14 per cent, cereals at 9.27 per cent, and milk at 3.37 per cent in June.

In the fuel and power basket, inflation stood at 1.03 per cent, slightly lower than 1.35 per cent in May. However, the price rise in crude petroleum and natural gas was in double digits at 12.55 per cent during the month.

Inflation in manufactured products increased to 1.43 per cent in June from 0.78 per cent in May.

The rise in June’s WPI was in line with retail inflation data for the month, which showed retail inflation rising to a four-month high of 5.1 per cent in June, according to data released last week.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) primarily considers retail inflation when formulating monetary policy.