HT Digital,
New Delhi, Oct 16: India’s wholesale inflation has stayed in the negative zone for the sixth consecutive month through September, as per official data released on Monday. The wholesale inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), first entered negative territory in April this year.
Before this, the WPI was reported to be negative during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in July 2020. Wholesale inflation in September was approximately (-) 0.26 per cent, compared to (-) 0.52 per cent in August and (-) 1.23 in July, as per data from the ministry of commerce and industry. September’s deflation is primarily due to decreased prices of chemicals, chemical products, mineral oils, textiles, basic metals, and food products compared to the same month last year.
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The WPI data follows the statistics ministry’s comments on October 12 that headline retail inflation had dropped to a three-month low of 5.02 per cent in September. The wholesale prices index numbers are released monthly by the government on the 14th (or the next working day), compiled from data received from institutional sources and selected manufacturing units nationwide.
The overall wholesale inflation was 8.39 per cent in October 2022, and has been decreasing since. Notably, WPI-based inflation was in double digits for 18 consecutive months until September last year. Meanwhile, retail inflation in India in September was within the RBI’s 2-6 per cent comfort level, but above the ideal 4 per cent, standing at 5.02 per cent.
