FNB News - Wholesale Price Index for all commodities for Aug ’18 up by 0.3% to 120

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POLICY & REGULATIONS

Wholesale Price Index for all commodities for Aug ’18 up by 0.3% to 120

Friday, 21 September, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]

Our Bureau, New Delhi

The official Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities (keeping 2011-12=100 as the base) for the month of August 2018 rose by 0.3 per cent to 120 (provisional) from 119.7 (provisional) for the previous month.

Inflation
The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 4.53 per cent (provisional) for the month of August 2018 (over August 2017) as compared to 5.09 per cent (provisional) for the previous month and 3.24 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

Build-up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 3.18 per cent compared to a build-up rate of 1.41 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Inflation for important commodities/commodity groups is indicated in Annex-I and Annex-II. The movement of the index for the various commodity groups is summarised below:

Primary articles (Weight 22.62 per cent)
The index for this major group rose by 0.1 per cent to 135.1 (provisional) from 134.9 (provisional) for the previous month. The groups and items which showed variations during the month are as follows:

The index for the food articles group rose by 0.1 per cent to 144.8 (provisional) from 144.7 (provisional) for the previous month due to the higher prices of gram (six per cent), moong, ragi and bajra (four per cent each), urad, barley, wheat and tea (three per cent each), coffee, jowar and masur (two per cent each) and maize and rajma (one per cent each). However, the prices of egg (six per cent), poultry chicken (fve per cent), fish-inland (three per cent), peas/chawali, betel leaves and arhar (two per cent each) and beef and buffalo meat and pork (one per cent each) declined.

The index for the non-food articles group rose by 1.2 per cent to 125 (provisional) from 123.5 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of groundnut seed and guar seed (seven per cent each), castor seed (four per cent), gingelly seed, raw rubber and floriculture (three per cent each), rape and mustard seed, raw wool, fodder, mesta and linseed (two per cent each) and cotton seed, raw jute, sunflower, safflower (kardi seed) and raw cotton (one per cent each). However, the price of soyabean (two per cent) and niger seed and hides (raw) (one per cent each) declined.

Manufactured products (Weight 64.23 per cent)
The index for this major group rose by 0.3 per cent to 117.8 (provisional) from 117.4 (provisional) for the previous month. The groups and items which showed variations during the month are as follows:

The index for manufacture of food products remained unchanged at 129 (provisional). Rise in price was recorded for groundnut oil, cotton seed oil cake, sooji (rawa) and maida (five per cent each), wheat flour (atta) (four per cent), salt and gram powder (besan) (three per cent), gur, honey, coffee powder with chicory, rice bran extract, molasses, mustard oil cake and spices (including mixed spices) (two per cent each) and cotton seed oil, ice cream, castor oil, rice products, fish frozen [canned/processed], instant coffee, biscuit, cookies and sunflower oil (one per cent each). While a decline in price was recorded for chicken/duck (dressed-fresh/frozen) and palm oil (three per cent each), condensed milk (two per cent) and fruit juice including concentrates, butter, basmati rice, processed tea and soya preparations excluding oil (one per cent each).

The index for the manufacture of beverages group rose by 0.3 per cent to 120 (provisional) from 119.6 (provisional) for the previous month due to the higher price of bottled mineral water, rectified spirit and beer (one per cent each).

The index for the manufacture of tobacco products group rose by 0.5 per cent to 150.1 (provisional) from 149.3 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of other tobacco products (two per cent). However, the price of cigarette (one per cent) declined.

WPI Food Index (Weight 24.38 per cent)
The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index consisting of food articles from the primary articles group and the food product from the manufactured products group decreased from -0.86 per cent in July 2018 to -2.25 per cent in August 2018.

Final index for the month of June 2018 (Base year: 2011-12=100)

For the month of June 2018, the final Wholesale Price Index for all commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 119.1 as compared to 119.2 (provisional) and the annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 5.68 per cent as compared to 5.77 per cent (provisional) respectively, as reported on July 16, 2018.

Annexure-I
Wholesale Price Index and rates of inflation (Base year: 2011-12=100)

					Month of August 2018
Commodities/major groups/groups/sub-groups	Weight	WPI August 2018	Latest month-over-month		Build-up from March		Year-on-year
Commodities/major groups/groups/sub-groups	Weight	WPI August 2018	2017-18	2018-19	2017-18	2018-19	2017-18	2018-19
All commodities	100.00	120.0	0.79	0.25	1.41	3.18	3.24	4.53
Primary articles	22.62	135.1	2.04	0.15	6.45	5.38	2.97	-0.15
Food articles	15.26	144.8	2.03	0.07	9.67	5.46	5.82	-4.04
Cereals	2.82	149.7	-0.07	1.42	-1.86	3.53	0.21	5.05
Paddy	1.43	155.6	-0.40	0.39	0.54	1.97	2.70	4.78
Wheat	1.03	148.6	0.59	2.55	-4.06	5.24	-1.44	8.39
Pulses	0.64	124.5	-0.27	3.06	-5.71	1.80	-28.79	-14.26
Vegetables	1.87	174.8	8.52	0.81	84.97	51.74	44.84	-20.18
Potato	0.28	226.9	-0.45	-1.82	44.90	73.87	-43.95	71.89
Onion	0.16	161.4	88.14	-0.80	99.37	2.61	88.46	-26.80
Fruits	1.60	133.0	7.79	-1.19	14.21	-12.61	7.35	-16.40
Milk	4.44	143.7	0.36	0.35	2.34	2.13	3.94	2.86
Eggs, meat and fish	2.40	135.7	-2.32	-2.58	0.52	1.95	4.01	0.59

Manufactured products	64.23	117.8	0.18	0.34	0.45	1.73	2.36	4.43
Manufacture of food products	9.12	129.0	0.47	0.00	0.08	0.86	1.92	1.26
Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats	2.64	119.0	0.38	-1.08	-1.94	1.71	0.47	11.95
Sugar	1.06	116.5	0.54	-0.09	0.23	-0.26	8.53	-11.07

Annexure-II
Trend of rate of inflation for some important items during last six months
Commodities/Major Groups/Groups/Sub-Groups	Weight (%)	Rate of Inflation for the last six months
Commodities/Major Groups/Groups/Sub-Groups	Weight (%)	August 2018	July 2018		June 2018	May 2018	April 2018	March 2018
All commodities	100.00	4.53		5.09	5.68	4.78	3.62	2.74
Primary articles	22.62	-0.15		1.73	4.74	3.79	2.59	0.87
Food articles	15.26	-4.04		-2.16	1.87	1.74	0.87	-0.22
Cereals	2.82	5.05		3.51	2.59	1.68	0.21	-0.41
Paddy	1.43	4.78		3.96	3.71	4.19	3.86	3.32
Wheat	1.03	8.39		6.31	5.14	3.05	-0.07	-1.19
Pulses	0.64	-14.26		-17.03	-20.23	-21.13	-22.46	-20.58
Vegetables	1.87	-20.18		-14.07	8.49	3.56	-0.40	-2.70
Potato	0.28	71.89		74.28	99.64	88.53	71.66	43.25
Onion	0.16	-26.80		38.82	21.02	13.20	13.62	42.22
Fruits	1.60	-16.40		-8.81	3.73	15.40	19.39	9.26
Milk	4.44	2.86		2.87	2.37	2.38	2.54	3.08
Eggs, meat and fish	2.40	0.59		0.87	-0.07	0.15	-2.00	-0.82

Manufactured products	64.23	4.43		4.26	4.17	3.82	3.29	3.12
Manufacture of food products	9.12	1.26		1.74	1.10	0.24	0.55	0.47
Manufacture of vegetable and animal oils and fats	2.64	11.95		13.60	13.88	13.21	11.19	7.93
Sugar	1.06	-11.07		-10.51	-13.37	-19.46	-15.56	-10.64