Wholesale Inflation Rises for Fourth Straight Month in June to 3.36% Due to Costlier Vegetables

Wholesale inflation in India has increased for the fourth consecutive month, reaching 3.36% in June. This rise is primarily attributed to the soaring prices of food articles, especially vegetables, along with manufactured items.

In the fuel and power basket, inflation stood at 1.03 per cent, marginally lower than 1.35 per cent in May.

The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation stood at 2.61% in May, marking a significant increase from the -4.18% recorded in June 2023.

According to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, "The positive rate of inflation in June 2024 is primarily due to the increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, crude petroleum & natural gas, mineral oils, other manufacturing, etc."

Key Highlights from the Data:

• Food Articles Inflation: Increased to 10.87% in June from 9.82% in May.
• Vegetables Inflation: Jumped to 38.76% in June from 32.42% in May.
  • Onion Inflation: Surged to 93.35%.
  • Potato Inflation: Rose to 66.37%.
  • Pulses Inflation: Climbed to 21.64%.
• Fuel and Power Basket Inflation: Slightly decreased to 1.03% in June from 1.35% in May.
• Manufactured Products Inflation: Increased to 1.43% in June from 0.78% in May.

The rise in wholesale inflation aligns with the retail inflation data for June, which saw retail inflation climb to a four-month high of 5.1%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) primarily considers retail inflation when framing its monetary policy, indicating that the increasing inflation rates could influence future policy decisions.