Wholesale price inflation surged to a four-month high of 2.36 per cent in October, largely due to increased costs for food items, vegetables, food manufacturing, as well as other sectors, according to an official data released on Thursday.
The food index, which holds a weightage of 24.38 per cent, saw wholesale inflation climb to 11.59 per cent in October, up from 9.47 per cent in September and 3.21 per cent in August.
The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation stood at 1.84 per cent in September 2024, compared to -0.26 per cent in October last year.
“Inflation in October, 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of machinery & equipment, manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers, etc” the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.
- Food item inflation surged to 13.54 per cent in October from 11.53 per cent in September, with vegetable prices showing a significant increase of 63.04 per cent, up from 48.73 per cent in September.
- Specific food items like potato and onion inflation reached 78.73 per cent and 39.25 per cent respectively in October.
- The fuel and power sector experienced a deflation of 5.79 per cent in October, compared to 4.05 per cent in September. Manufactured items showed an inflation rate of 1.50 per cent, increasing from 1 per cent in the previous month.
Inflation rate for the last three months of all commodities and WPI components:
| Commodity/Major Group | Weight (%) | August-24 (F) | September-24 (P) | October-24 (P) |
|---|
| Index | Inflation | Index | Inflation | Index | Inflation |
| All Commodities | 100.00 | 154.4 | 1.25% | 154.6 | 1.84% | 156.1 | 2.36% |
| I. Primary Articles | 22.62 | 195.1 | 2.52% | 195.7 | 6.59% | 200.3 | 8.09% |
| II. Fuel & Power | 13.15 | 148.3 | -0.54% | 146.9 | -4.05% | 146.5 | -5.79% |
| III. Manufactured Products | 64.23 | 141.3 | 1.00% | 141.8 | 1.00% | 142.5 | 1.50% |
| Food Index | 24.38 | 193.1 | 3.21% | 195.3 | 9.47% | 201.2 | 11.59% |
Month-on Month changes in major WPI groups:
- In October 2024, the index for Primary Articles rose by 2.35 per cent , reaching 200.3 (provisional) from 195.7 in September.
- Prices for food articles increased by 3.37 per cent , while crude petroleum and natural gas saw a slight rise of 0.41 per cent . Conversely, prices of minerals and non-food articles declined by 1.67 per cent and 0.37 per cent , respectively.
- The Fuel & Power index fell by 0.27 per cent to 146.5 (provisional) in October 2024 from 146.9 (provisional) in September.
- Electricity prices increased by 1.18 per cent , but mineral oils and coal saw price reductions of 0.84 per cent and 0.07 per cent , respectively.
- The index for manufactured products increased by 0.49 per cent , reaching 142.5 (provisional) in October 2024 from 141.8 (provisional) in September.
- Notable groups with price increases included food products, basic metals, other manufacturing, machinery and equipment, and other transport equipment.
- Groups with price decreases included fabricated metal products (excluding machinery and equipment), pharmaceuticals, non-metallic mineral products, chemicals, and tobacco products.
- The Food Index, incorporating ‘food articles’ and food products, rose from 195.3 in September to 201.2 in October 2024.
October marked the second successive monthly increase in WPI inflation. The last time WPI exceeded October’s level was in June 2024, when it reached 3.43 per cent.
Recent consumer price index data revealed retail inflation reached a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent, largely due to increased food prices.
The RBI, which primarily considers retail inflation in its monetary policy decisions, maintained the benchmark repo rate at 6.5 per cent during its most recent policy review.
The WPI for November 2024 is scheduled for release on December 16.
