India’s wholesale price inflation eases to 2.31% in January
15 Feb 2025
India’s wholesale price inflation, based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI), declined to 2.31 per cent in January 2025 from 2.39 per cent in the previous month (December 2024), despite an increase in the prices of manufactured products, including food, provisional figures released on Friday showed.
Inflation rate for the primary articles group, which has a weight of 22.62 per cent in the Wholesale Price Index, declined by 2.01 per cent in January 2025.
Within the primary articles group, inflation rate for food articles declined by 3.62 per cent in January 2025. The prices of crude petroleum and natural gas increased by 6.34 per cent, while prices of non-food articles increased by 0.66 per cent and that of minerals by 0.22 per cent during the month.
Inflation rate for the `fuel and power’ group (weight of 13.15 per cent), increased by 0.47 per cent in January 2025. Price of mineral oils and electricity increased by 0.71 per cent and 0.20 per cent, respectively, in January 2025. The price of coal has remained unchanged from the previous month.
Inflation rate for the manufactured products group (weight of 64.23 per cent) increased by 0.14 per cent in January 2025.
Out of the 22 manufactured product groups, 15 groups saw increase in prices while prices of 5 groups declined and prices of 2 groups remained unchanged.
Some of the important groups that showed a rising trend in prices included manufacturing, manufactured food products, machinery and equipment, chemicals and chemical products, pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical products etc.
Some of the groups that showed a decrease in prices in January 2025 included basic metals, fabricated metal products (except machinery and equipment), wearing apparel, beverages and other transport equipment.
Inflation rate for WPI Food Index (weight of 24.38 per cent), consisting of 'food articles' from primary articles group and 'food products' from the manufactured products group, declined to 7.47 per cent in January 2025 from 8.89 per cent in December 2024.
WPI inflation for November 2024, based on the revised Wholesale Price Index stood at 2.16 per cent in January 2025.
