Inflation rises to 4-month high
Onion prices were up by 88.46 per cent in August and vegetables prices shot up by 44.91 per cent hitting the common man.
New Delhi: India’s wholesale price inflation (WPI) accelerated to four-month high of 3.24 per cent in August driven by higher prices of food and fuel products.
Onion prices were up by 88.46 per cent in August and vegetables prices shot up by 44.91 per cent hitting the common man. However, the prices of pulses were down by 30.16 per cent when compared to August last year.
Overall inflation of food articles went up by 5.75 per cent in August, as against 2.15 per cent in July. Petrol inflation, however, jumped by 24.55 per cent and diesel by 20.30 per cent im August.
The WPI was 1.88 per cent in July 2017 and 1.09 per cent in August 2016.
Inflation in manufactured products witnessed a increase at 2.45 per cent in August, against 2.18 per cent in July. In fuel and power segment, inflation saw a surge to a near double digit inflation at 9.99 per cent, against 4.37 per cent in July.
“Primary items such as perishables and oilseeds, as well as the pass through of the global price rise in fuels and metals, drove a large part of the uptick in wholesale inflation in August 2017. Nevertheless, the uptick in headline as well as core wholesale inflation in August 2017, strengthens the case for a pause in the upcoming monetary policy review,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at Icra. She said the continued rise in crude oil prices is expected to push up the mineral oils sub-index in the ongoing month.