Wholesale price inflation drops to 12.41% in August

This is the seventeenth consecutive month that wholesale inflation has been over 10%

India’s wholesale price inflation dropped to 12.41% in August from 13.93% in July with the food index the only segment to report higher inflation during the month at 9.93% from 9.41% in July.

Manufactured products inflation dropped to 7.5%, while fuel and power inflation corrected from 43.75% in July to 33.67%. Primary articles inflation fell slightly from 15.04% in July to 14.93% in August

Inflation in August 2022 is primarily contributed by rising in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals & chemical products, electricity, food products etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year, the Commerce and Industry Ministry said.

This is the seventeenth consecutive month that wholesale inflation has been over 10%.

The Wholesale inflation rate for the month of June has also been revised to 16.23% from 15.18% estimated earlier. Earlier, the inflation rate for May was similarly revised upward to 16.63%, a record high.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mainly looks at retail inflation to frame its monetary policy.

Retail inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank’s upper tolerance threshold of 6% for the eighth month in a row and was at 7% in August.