WPI food inflation down to 3.6% in April

NEW DELHI: Wholesale food inflation declined to 3.6% in April from 5.49% a month ago, the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) said on Thursday. However, the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) last week showed that retail food inflation rose to 10.5% in April from 8.76% a month ago.

Wholesale fuel inflation contracted 10.1% during April from a deflation of 1.76% a month ago, while price movement of primary articles entered deflationary territory with 0.79% contraction in April against 3.72% inflation a month ago.

The industry department on Thursday released only price movement of select sub-groups for wholesale price inflation.

This follows the suspension of the release of headline retail inflation print for April by NSO because of the disruption in data collection as a result of the covidinduced mobility restrictions.

“In view of the preventive measures and announcement of lockdown by the government to contain spread of pandemic, the price collection of manufactured products through personal visits of price collectors was suspended with effect from 19 March 2020. The data (ex-factory prices) was collected through electronic means of communications from select factories and institutional sources. The price movement of these sub-groups/groups of WPI was worked out by taking the prices of only those items for which at least 25% of price quotations were reported from the selected manufacturing units,” said the industry department.