The month-on-month change in WPI index for February saw an increase of 0.20 per cent as against 0.13 per cent in the preceding month.
“Decline in the rate of inflation in February, 2023 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, non-food articles, food products, minerals, computer, electronic & optical products, chemicals & chemical products, electrical equipment and motor vehicles, trailers & semitrailers,” stated a press release.
The latest WPI number could be favourable for corporates as a dip in wholesale prices might ease pressure on corporate earnings. Lower input costs might also bode well for retail prices.
The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index slowed from 2.95 per cent in January, 2023 to 2.76 per cent in February, 2023.
For the primary articles segment, the inflation rate eased to 3.28 per cent from 3.88 per cent in the previous month .
Wholesale inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas eased significantly to 14.47 per cent from 23.79 per cent in January. February’s fuel and power inflation declined to 14.82 per cent as against 15.15 per cent last month.Inflation for manufactured products came in at 1.94 per cent in February.
The CPI number for February, which came out on Monday, also eased to 6.44 per cent from 6.52 per cent in January.
In May last year, the WPI had climbed by 15.88 per cent, the highest since September 1991, due to rising prices for crude petroleum and natural gas, food items, basic metals and chemical products.
The WPI inflation had eased to a 24-month low of 4.73 per cent in January, due to fall in prices of food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, food products, textiles and chemicals & chemical products. The WPI inflation has been decreasing for the past several months.
The WPI is one of the two indices that measure inflation in India. The other is Consumer Price Inflation (CPI). The WPI captures prices at the level of production or manufacturing, taking into account goods traded between companies, as against the CPI that measures prices at the retail consumer level. Food items, which constitute a major part of the CPI, drive retail inflation, while for the WPI, it’s manufactured goods.