Lower fuel prices ease India’s wholesale price index

new delhi — Lower prices of fuel and manufactured products eased India’s annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices to 3.80 per cent in December 2018 from 4.64 per cent in November, official data showed here on Monday.

Per the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, December’s inflation rate was higher than the rise of 3.58 per cent reported for the corresponding period of 2017.

“The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 3.80 per cent [provisional] for the month of December 2018 [over December 2017] as compared to 4.64 per cent [provisional] for the previous month and 3.58 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year,” the ministry

The cost of fuel and power commands a 13.15 per cent weightage in India’s WpI. —

said in its review of Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India for December. “The build-up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 3.27 per cent compared to a build up rate of 2.21 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.”

On a sequential basis, expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22.62 per cent of the WPI’s total weightage, rose to 2.28 per cent last month, from a rise of 0.88 per cent in November.

Similarly, the prices of food articles accelerated. The category has a weightage of 15.26 per cent in the WPI index. It deflated by 0.07 per cent from 3.31 per cent.

However, the cost of fuel and power segment, which commands a 13.15 per cent weightage, increased at a slower pace of 8.38 per cent from a growth of 16.28 per cent.

The expenses on manufactured products registered a rise of 3.59 per cent from 4.21 per cent.

On a year-on-year basis, onion prices deflated by 63.83 per cent, whereas potatoes became dearer by 48.68 per cent. —