AA EDIT | Wholesale inflation dip good

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has shown a dip in overall inflation to a low of 29 months, which is a positive for the people, economy and the government. The WPI data point of 1.34 per cent in March, which saw a significant drop 3.85 per cent in February, is in congruence with retail inflation, which also fell down last month to 5.66 per cent and went below the upper tolerance limit of six per cent as set by the Reserve Bank of India.

The fall in WPI is broadly because the prices of manufactured goods saw a  contraction and a weakening of inflationary pressures on prices of fuel. The control on prices at the factory gate level is important, because after remaining high and in double digits for 18 odd months straight after the end of the Covid pandemic and lockdowns, it has fallen down and remained low consistently for six plus months.

The commerce and industry ministry released the overall data labelling it as good news, but sadly, from the perspective of the common man, the inflation in food items increased to 5.48 per cent in March, a big rise from the 3.81 per cent a month prior. There was an acceleration in inflation of certain important commodities, including pulses, while an overall increase in price was seen across the food aisle, though a comparatively lower rate prevailed a month ago in vegetables, cereals, paddy, wheat, milk and fruits.

Even in the energy and fuel segment, while the national inflation declined to a more manageable 8.96 per cent last month (down from 14.82 per cent a month prior), the rate of inflation declined for petrol and diesel but LPG became dearer.

While a dip in wholesale inflation augurs well for citizens, higher fuel prices and expensive food, coupled with a hot summer, does not bode well.