India’s WPI Inflation Sees An Uptick In August
Inflation as measured by the Wholesale Price Index stood at 11.39% in August 2021 compared with 11.16% in July.
India’s wholesale inflation picked up after two months.
Inflation as measured by the Wholesale Price Index stood at 11.39% on an annual basis in August 2021 compared with 11.16% in July, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. The gauge rose 1.04% month-on-month in August compared with an increase of 0.6% in July.
Retail inflation, however, saw a sharper-than-anticipated fall in August. It eased to 5.3% during the reported month compared with 5.59% in July.
WPI inflation posted a surprise uptick in August, taking some sheen off the welcome easing displayed by the CPI inflation, said Aditi Nayar, chief economist at ICRA. “The core WPI inflation has displayed an uninterrupted hardening for 15 consecutive months to a fresh-all time high of 11.1% in August, belying our anticipation that the July print would prove to be the peak,” Nayar said.
WPI Inflation Internals
The uptick was led by primary non-food articles, minerals and core items, driven by elevated commodity prices as well as a surge in prices of oilseeds.
Inflation in manufactured products — the largest component of the index — rose 11.4% compared with an increase of 11.2% in July.
Year-on-year, primary articles inflation stood at 6.2% in August compared with a rise of 5.7% in July.
Inflation in prices of food articles eased 1.3% after no change in the previous month.
The index of non-food articles rose 28.8% compared with an increase of 22.9% in July.
Fuel and power index rose 26.1% in August compared with an annual rise of 26% in July.