Wholesale Inflation Falls In May As Crude, Fish And Eggs Get Cheaper
Wholesale inflation stands at 2.17 percent compared to an estimated 2.9 percent.
- Wholesale inflation at 2.17 percent
- Primary articles prices fell 1.5 percent
- Food article prices fell 1.2 percent
- Fuel and power prices fell 2.1 percent
- Manufactured products prices rose 0.4 percent
Lower food prices and a drop in fuel and power costs pulled the growth in wholesale price index down to 2.17 percent in May, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
This is the second monthly reading based on a new series after the government revised the base year to 2011-12 last month. A survey conducted among economists by Bloomberg had pegged wholesale inflation at 2.9 percent.
Food Prices Fall
Price of food items fell 1.2 percent last month, led by a drop in protein products like fish, eggs and masur dal, among others. The pace of rise in food prices has been falling for some time now.
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Crude And Petroleum
The sharpest drop was seen in crude and petroleum price index which fell by 7 percent, year-on-year, led by a 9 percent drop in crude prices. International crude prices have been trading below the $50 per barrel mark despite Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members adhering to production cuts as oil inventory in the U.S. continue to rise.
Others
Non-food articles also declined by 1.2 percent on lower raw rubber and seed prices. Minerals were the only commodity which saw its prices go up in May among primary articles.
The fuel and power index fell by 2.1 percent, with liquified petroleum gas prices falling by more than 10 percent last month.
Prices of manufactured products which carry the highest weightage in the wholesale price index rose by 0.4 percent, largely on the back of a price hike in metal products last month. Most of the other types of manufactured goods showed a decline in prices.
