WPI inflation remains negative for 4th mth
Wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation rate contracts 1.36% in July on easing prices of fuel; However, food articles turned costlier by over 62%.
File Photo.
New Delhi Wholesale price inflation remained in the negative territory for the fourth month in a row in July at (-)1.36 per cent, even though prices of food items, especially vegetables, skyrocketed. The inflation, however, has inched up from (-)4.12 per cent recorded in June fuelled by 62.12 per cent rise in vegetable prices. In July last year, wholesale price index (WPI) was 14.07 per cent. The WPI based inflation rate in food articles jumped 14.25 per cent in July, 2023, against 1.32 per cent in June.
“Decline in the rate of inflation in July 2023 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemical & chemical products, textiles and food products,” the commerce and industry ministry said on Monday.
CareEdge Chief Economist Rajani Sinha said if the food prices continue to trend upward, the deflationary trend could end, and WPI inflation could turn marginally positive in the coming months.
