India's wholesale inflation rises to 9.87% in June
What's the story
India's wholesale inflation rate increased to 9.87% in June, up from May's 9.68%. The rise is mainly attributed to a sharp spike in food prices, even as fuel inflation eased. This is the second consecutive month that the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation has remained close to double digits. The All India WPI for all commodities rose to 110.2 last month from May's 109.9.
Food impact
Significant rise in food inflation
The Commerce and Industry Ministry has reported a sharp rise in wholesale food inflation for June.
The WPI Food Index jumped to 6.14% last month from May's 4.49%. This increase is largely due to rising costs of food articles and manufactured food products.
Among the three major groups, inflation in primary articles surged to 7% from May's 4.99%, while that of manufactured products remained unchanged at a high 7.48%.
Fuel costs
Easing of fuel inflation
Fuel and power inflation eased to 27.41% in June from last month's 30.33%. However, it still remains high due to elevated petroleum product prices.
Mineral oils saw an annual inflation rate of 46.48%, while crude petroleum and natural gas prices rose by 34.75% year-on-year.
The easing of fuel inflation has not been enough to offset the overall rise in wholesale inflation driven by food costs and other factors such as basic metals and chemicals.