India’s wholesale price inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), accelerated to 9.87% in June from 9.68% in May, driven by higher inflation in food and primary articles. The reading exceeded the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of 9.38%.Data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Tuesday, July 14, showed food inflation rose to 6.14% in June from 4.49% in May, while primary articles inflation accelerated to 7% from 4.99% during the period.
In contrast, fuel and power inflation eased to 27.41% in June from 30.33% in the previous month, while inflation in manufactured products remained unchanged at 7.48%. Core wholesale inflation stood at 7.5%.
The June data marks the second release under the revised WPI series with 2022-23 as the base year, replacing the earlier 2011-12 series. The government launched the revised index alongside the new Output and Input Producer Price Indices (PPIs), with the WPI and PPI set to run in parallel for five years before the WPI is eventually phased out.According to the DPIIT, mineral oils (containing petroleum products), food articles, manufacture of basic metals, and manufacture of chemicals and chemical products were the key contributors to wholesale inflation in June.The All India WPI index for all commodities rose to 110.2 in June from 109.9 in May. The corresponding indices for primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products stood at 116.1, 111.1, and 107.8, respectively.WPI ComponentJune (%)May (%)Food Inflation6.144.49Fuel & Power27.4130.33Manufactured Products7.487.48Primary Articles74.99
Separately, the All India Output Producer Price Index (PPI) for all commodities edged up to 109.9 in June from 109.6 in May.The government also revised the final WPI inflation for April to 8.36% from the provisional estimate of 8.26%, following an upward revision in the index to 108.9 from 108.8.Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist at ICRA, said the June WPI print was “a very unpleasant number” and higher than the agency’s forecast, with food inflation coming in above expectations.She said the rise in food prices would need to be monitored closely in the coming weeks, particularly amid an uneven monsoon and uncertainty over the sowing season.Nayar also flagged crude oil prices as a key risk, noting that “just as we thought things had settled, crude is back below $80, now it’s crossed $80 again.” She said ICRA currently expects real GDP growth in the 6.2%-6.7% range for FY27, depending on the monsoon and developments in West Asia, while nominal GDP growth could be around 12%-12.5% for the fiscal year.
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