New Delhi : There has been some relief on the inflation front. Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has come down to 10.7 per cent in September from 11.80 per cent in September last year. Wholesale inflation has declined for the fourth consecutive month.
According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday, WPI-based WPI inflation has come down to 10.7 per cent for the fourth consecutive month. In the previous month, the wholesale inflation rate was 12.41 per cent in August. In fact, WPI-based WPI inflation reached a record high of 15.88 per cent in May this year.
According to the ministry, this decline in inflation based on wholesale prices has been registered due to the softening of prices of manufactured products, reduction in prices of food items and fuel. The WPI-based inflation rate has seen a declining trend for the fourth consecutive month. Wholesale inflation has remained in double digits for the 18th consecutive month since September 2022.
According to the data, inflation in food articles has come down to 11.03 per cent in September, from 12.37 per cent in August. However, during this period, the prices of vegetables have increased to 39.66 per cent from 22.29 per cent in August. Wholesale inflation for fuel and power stood at 32.61 per cent in September, as against 33.67 per cent in August. Inflation for manufactured products and oilseeds stood at 6.34 per cent and negative 16.55 per cent, respectively.
It is noteworthy that in September, the retail inflation rate for the 9th consecutive month has been 7.41 percent, above the target of 6 percent set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In fact, RBI mainly controls inflation through monetary policy. To control inflation, the RBI has increased the key interest rate four times to 5.90 per cent this year.