Team News Riveting
New Delhi, July 14
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for the month of June eased from last month’s record high and was pegged at 12.07 per cent because of soaring global prices of crude oil and manufactured goods.
An official statement attributed the high inflation rate to the low base effect from June 2020, which recorded -1.81 per cent inflation, and the rise in prices of petrol, diesel, naphtha and ATF, as well as basic metals, food products and chemicals.
A data released by the government on Wednesday said that the index has softened from the previous month’s high of 12.94 per cent but is still elevated due to a low base recorded last year. The food inflation in June decelerated to 3.1 per cent from 4.3 per cent a month ago, while fuel inflation eased to 32.8 per cent from 37.6 per cent a month ago despite the recent increase in prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas items.
Manufactured products inflation increased to 10.9 per cent from 10.8 per cent in May due to rising price pressure in sectors like textiles, apparel, leather, wood, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, cement, basic metals and fabricated metal products.
On the escalating inflationary situation, the finance ministry last week said the localized restrictions due to the second wave could have led to some supply-side disruptions, contributing to price pressures. “With the encouraging progress of the southwest monsoon, supply-side interventions in the pulses and edible oils market, and gradual unlocking of states with declining caseload would mitigate cost pressures going forward. However, rising global commodity prices, especially of crude and logistics costs, pose upside risks to the inflation outlook,” it added.
