India’s WPI inflation eases to 12.41 per cent in August

India’s wholesale-based (WPI) inflation eased to 12.41 per cent in August as against 13.93 per cent in July, 2022.

The number has remained in double digits for the 17th consecutive month.

“Inflation in August, 2022 is primarily contributed by rise in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, chemicals & chemical products, electricity, food products etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.” stated a press release.


Inflation in food articles basket in August surged to 12.37 per cent as compared with 10.77 per cent in the preceding month. The manufacturing goods segment recorded a growth of 7.51 per cent.

Primary Articles, which is a key segment, witnessed a sharp growth of 14.93 per cent. The number stood at 2.69 per cent in July.

For the fuel and power segment, the WPI number jumped/came in at 33.67 per cent as against 43.75 per cent in July.

"While easing wholesale inflation is a positive development, it remains to be seen if firms will pass on the benefit to final consumers. If not, then bringing retail inflation within the target range could take even longer. If the easing of global commodity prices sustains, we could expect wholesale inflation easing to single digit by October. We expect WPI inflation to fall below CPI inflation by the end of this fiscal," said Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist at CareEdge.

Recently, the retail inflation for the month of August surged to 7 per cent breaching the upper limit of RBI’s tolerance band (2-6 per cent) for the eighth consecutive month.

August’s number snapped a three-month downward trend on the back of rising food prices driven by record heatwave and squeezing household budgets. This may add pressure on RBI to hike interest rates more aggressively in coming months.

According to news agency Reuters, analysts have predicted that the RBI may raise interest rates by another 50 basis points this month.

"From a policy perspective, another month of above-target inflation clears the path for further monetary tightening at the next MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) meeting on 30 September," Reuters had quoted Rahul Bajoria, chief India economist at Barclays Bank, as saying.