SME Times News Bureau | 14 Nov, 2018
Annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices rose to
5.28 per cent in October from 5.13 per cent in September, official data showed on
Wednesday.
The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at
5.28% (provisional) for the month of October, 2018 (over October, 2017) as
compared to 5.13% (provisional) for the previous month and 3.68% during the
corresponding month of the previous year, said an official release.
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was
4.64% compared to a build up rate of 2.12% in the corresponding period of the
previous year, it added.
Even, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data furnished
by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry was higher than 3.68 per cent reported
for the corresponding period of 2017.
On a sequential basis, the expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22.62
per cent of the WPI's total weightage eased to 1.79 per cent, from a rise of
2.97 per cent in September.
Similarly, the prices of food articles declined. The category has a weightage
of 15.26 per cent in the WPI index.
However, the cost of fuel and power segment, which commands a 13.15 per cent
weightage, edged higher by 18.44 per cent from a growth of 16.65 per cent.
The expenses on manufactured products registered a rise of 4.49 per cent from
4.22 per cent.
On a YoY basis, onion prices declined by 31.69 per cent, whereas potatoes
became dearer by 93.65 per cent.
In contrast, the overall vegetable prices in the month under review declined by
18.65 per cent, against a rise of 36.67 per cent in the same month a year ago.
Among the non-food items, the price of high-speed diesel rose by 19.85 per cent
on a YoY basis, petrol by 31.39 per cent and LPG by 18.44 per cent.