Wholesale Inflation Eases Marginally To 12.96% In January 

Wholesale price inflation eased consecutively for second month in a row in January to 12.96 per cent from 13.56 per cent in December, data from Ministry of Commerce & Industry showed. However, WPI inflation has remained in double digits for the tenth consecutive month beginning April 2021. Inflation in December 2021 was 13.56 per cent, while in January 2021, it was 2.51 per cent.

"The high rate of inflation in January, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, food articles etc as compared the corresponding month of the previous year," commerce ministry said in a press release.

Inflation in food articles, however, spiked to a 10.33 per cent in January 2022 from 9.56 per cent in December 2021. Vegetable price rise rate jumped to 38.45 per cent, against 31.56 per cent in the previous month.

In the food articles category, pulses, cereals and paddy witnessed a month-on-month price rise, while inflation in egg, meat and fish stood at 9.85 per cent and in potato and onion at (-)14.45 and (-)15.98 per cent, respectively.

Fuel & Power inflation increased by 3.9 per cent in January with prices of electricity rising 15.94 per cent and mineral oil prices registering an increase of 0.83 per cent.

Manufactured products inflation, which has weightage of 64 per cent in the overall index increased by 0.51 per cent. "Out of the 22 NIC two-digit groups for manufactured products, 18 groups that have witnessed increase in prices while 3 groups have witnessed decrease in prices in January, 2022 as compared to December, 2021," the ministry said in a release.

The increase in prices was mainly on the back of increase in prices of basic metals, motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers; machinery and equipment; textiles; and chemicals and chemical products.

Inflation in manufactured items was 9.42 per cent in January, against 10.62 per cent in the previous month.

 In fuel and power basket, the rate of price rise was 32.27 in January, a tad lower than 32.30 per cent in December.

The Reserve Bank last week kept its key repo rate -- at which it lends short-term money to banks -- unchanged for the 10th time in a row at 4 per cent, to support growth as well as manage the inflationary pressures.