WPI inflation rises to 11.39% in August on costlier manufactured goods; food prices soften

The wholesale price-based inflation rose marginally to 11.39% in August, mainly due to higher prices of manufactured goods, even as prices of food articles softened.

Snapping the two-month easing trend, WPI inflation rose in August and remained in double-digit for the fifth consecutive month. In July 2021, WPI inflation stood at 11.16%.

In August 2020, WPI inflation was at 0.41%.

“The high rate of inflation in August 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of non-food articles, mineral oils; crude petroleum and natural gas; manufactured products like basic metals; food products; textiles; chemicals and chemical products etc as compared the corresponding month of the previous year,” the Commerce and Industry Ministry said in a statement.

Inflation in food articles eased for the fourth straight month, recording (-) 1.29 % in August, from zero per cent in July, even as onion and pulses prices spiked. Inflation in onions was high at 62.78 %, while that in pulses was 9.41%. In vegetables it was (-) 13.30% in August.

Inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas was 40.03% in August.

In manufactured products, inflation stood at 11.39% in August, against 11.20% in July.

The RBI, which mainly takes into account retail inflation, in its monetary policy last month kept interest rates unchanged at record lows. It projected CPI or retail inflation at 5.7% during 2021-22, up from its earlier projection of 5.1%.

Data released on Monday showed that retail inflation softened to a four-month low of 5.3% in August, from 5.59% in the previous month, led by subdued prices of food articles.