New Delhi: The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) declined to 3.85 per cent for the month of February as per the press notice released by The Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday. The inflation rate for the same was at 4.73 per cent in January, 4.95 per cent in December 2022 and a high of 13.43 per cent in February 2022.
In May of 2022 Inflation in India’s wholesale prices hit a fresh record high of 15.88%, causing severe financial troubles to the local Kirana stores owners and indirectly to the consumers.
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A report by a news agency suggested that the consumers faced much higher inflation levels than whatever headline inflation numbers suggested. Not only this but an increase in inflation caused producers to grapple with high input costs, which in return was passed to the local consumers.
Due to this, the purchasing power of consumers severely declined, resulting in little to no saving.
The present decreasing WPI and CPI Inflation levels provide the much-needed relief to both store owners and the consumers.
WPI FOR FEBRURARY 2024
The WPI level is now at a 25-month low. The main reason for the decrease in WPI is the easing prices of manufactured items, power, and fuel. Inflation in pulses was recorded at 2.59 per cent , (-) 7.38 per cent in oil seeds while 7.02 per cent in fruits. This will be the ninth straight month of decline in WPI-based inflation.
The rate of inflation based on the WPI Food Index has decreased from 2.95% in January 2024 to 2.76% in February 2024. However, Inflation in food articles, rose to 3.81 per cent in February compared to 2.38 per cent in January.
“Decline in the rate of inflation in February 2024 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, non-food articles, food products, minerals, computer, electronic & optical products, chemicals & chemical products, electrical equipment and motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers,” said the Commerce and Industry Ministry in the press release.
DECREASE RECORDED IN CPI FOR FEBRURARY
Apart from this, The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation also released data on Monday regarding the retail inflation rate around the country which has also dipped marginally to 6.44 percent in the month of February. The main reason for the dip is the slight easing in prices of food and fuel items.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) is an economic indicator that measures the average change in the prices of goods sold in wholesale markets. It is used as an indicator of inflation.
The WPI is published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The current weightage for the most important components of WPI is:
- Primary Articles (Weight 22.62%) – Include Food and Non-food articles
- Fuel & Power (Weight 13.15%)
- Manufactured Products (Weight 64.23%)
The base year for the WPI in India is currently 2011-12. The index is expressed as a percentage change from the base year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monitors the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) closely as it is one of the key indicators of inflation in the economy.
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