Inflation: India’s wholesale price index soars 12.54% in October

New Delhi: The highest wholesale price index (WPI) India recorded in a decade was six months back in May 2021. WPI had hit 12.94% in the scorching heat of May month. In October WPI has soared 12.54 percent which is close to the highest in the decade, Govt data says. The government measures the changes in the prices of goods sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businesses to other businesses through WPI. A surge in WPI data clearly indicates the inflationary pressure in the economy.

It is pertinent to mention here that the WPI in October 2020 was at 1.31 percent.

"The high rate of inflation in October 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products etc. as compared the corresponding month of the previous year," the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in an official statement released Monday. 

Ministry data shows that the wholesale price index (WPI) grew 10.66 percent during the month of September, while the WPI for August was revised to 11.64 percent from 11.39 percent, the data showed. The food articles segment witnessed a (-)1.69 percent change in October, the data showed. In the month prior to that, this was (-)4.69 percent.

The commodities chosen to calculate WPI are primarily divided into food articles and Non-food articles. Food Articles include items such as Cereals, Paddy, Wheat, Pulses, Vegetables, Fruits, Milk, Eggs, Meat & Fish, etc. Non-Food Articles include Oil Seeds, Minerals and Crude Petroleum. According to the data, vegetable prices contracted (-)18.49 percent in October, against (-)32.45 percent in September, the data showed. Prices of potato fell (-)51.32 percent while that of onions slipped (-)25.01 percent. Apart from this, prices of pulses grew 5.36 percent last month, while that of fruits rose 8.22 percent. Eggs, meat and fish prices rose 1.98 percent in October.

The fuel and power segment surged to 37.18 percent in October from 24.81 percent a month ago. Petrol prices rose by 64.72 percent, HSD (High-Speed Diesel) gained by 71.68 percent and LPG prices inched by 54.3 percent. The manufactured products segment rose 12.04 percent last month led by a 32.57 perent jump in vegetable and animal oils and fats.
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