India’s WPI inflation rises 0.16% in August on costlier food, manufactured items

New Delhi: After remaining in the negative territory for four straight months, India’s Wholesale price index based (WPI) inflation rose 0.16 percent in August as food items and manufactured products turned costlier, official data showed on Monday.

“The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at (0.16%) (Provisional) for the month of August, 2020 (over August, 2019) as compared to 1.17% during the corresponding month of the previous year,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.

The WPI inflation in April was at (-) 1.57 percent, (-) 3.37 percent in May, (-) 1.81 percent in June and (-) 0.58 percent in July.

Inflation in Primary Articles rose 1.60 percent.  Fuel and power inflation fell 9.68 percent in August, as against 9.84 percent in the previous month. Manufactured products, however, witnessed hardening of inflation at 1.27 percent in August against 0.51 percent in July. Inflation in the Food Index rose 4,07 percent.

On a sequential basis, the expenses on primary articles, constitutes 22 .62 percent of the WPI`s total weightage, Fuel and power constitutes 13.2 percent, Manufactured products constitutes 64.2 percent and food index constitutes 24.4 percent weitage.

Inflation in vegetables stood at 7.03 percent, while in onion it was (-) 34.48 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its policy review last month kept interest rates unchanged and said it sees an upside risk to inflation. The apex bank projected retention of inflation to moderate in October-March period.