Wholesale price inflation rate falls further to - 2.06% in February
16 Mar 2015
The annual rate of inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) declined at a much faster rate to hit (-) 2.06 per cent in February 2015, on the back of a 0.39 per cent fall in the previous month and a 0.50 per cent (revised estimates) fall in December 2014, helped in large measure by the fall in fuel prices.
The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at (-) 2.06 per cent in February 2015 compared to (-) 0.39 per cent in the previous month and 5.03 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year, according to provisional figures release by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Build-up of inflation rate in the financial year so far was (-) 2.50 per cent compared with a build-up of 5.53 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Inflation rate for the `primary articles' group, which has a weight of 20.12 per cent in the wholesale price index, declined by 1.9 per cent in February 2015.
Among primary articles, the index for the 'food articles' group declined by 0.8 per cent due to lower prices of egg, fruits and vegetables, tea, moong, ragi, coffee, pork, beef and buffalo meat and barley. However, the price of arhar, mutton, poultry chicken and fish, gram, condiments and spices, masur, jowar and maize moved up.
The index for the 'non-food articles' group declined by 0.8 per cent due to lower price of guar seed, castor seed, raw cotton, fodder, gingelly seed and cotton seed, soyabean and copra However, the price of flowers, niger seed, groundnut seed and raw silk, raw jute, raw rubber and sunflower and linseed moved up.
The index for the 'minerals' group declined by 13.1 per cent due to lower price of zinc concentrate, crude petroleum, barytes, copper ore and chromite. However, the price of magnesite and iron ore, steatite and sillimanite and phosphorite moved up.
The index for the 'fuel and power' group, which has a weight of 14.91 per cent in the WPI, declined by 4.4 per cent due to lower price of furnace oil, aviation turbine fuel and bitumen, high speed diesel, petrol, kerosene and LPG.
The index for the `manufactured products' group, which has a weight of 64.97 per cent in the WPI, declined by 0.3 per cent year-on-year in February 2015.
Among manufactured products, the index for the 'food products' group declined by 0.5 per cent due to lower price of tea dust (blended), tea leaf (unblended), gingelly oil, bakery products and powder milk, sugar, rice bran oil, gur, canned fish, tea leaf (blended), sooji (rawa), mustard and rapeseed oil, wheat flour and soyabean oil. However, the price of coconut oil and tea dust (unblended), ghee and coffee powder, oil cakes and groundnut oil, cattle feed and cotton seed oil moved up.
The index for the 'beverages, tobacco and tobacco products' group declined by 0.1 per cent due to lower price of rectified spirit and cigarette. However, the price of bidi and beer moved up.
The index for the 'textiles' group declined by 0.2 per cent due to lower price of tyre cord fabric and cotton fabric, man-made fabric, man-made fibre and woollen textiles However, the price of jute sacking bag, jute sacking cloth and gunny and hessian cloth and jute yarn and cotton yarn moved up.
The index for 'wood and wood products' group declined by 0.1 per cent due to lower price of veneered particle board and veneer wood. However, the price of wooden chair moved up.
The index for the 'paper and paper products' group rose 0.1 per cent due to higher price of paper cartons / boxes, books / periodicals/ journals, paper for printing / poster and paper rolls. However, the price of laminated paper and newsprint declined.
The index for the 'leather and leather products' group declined by 0.4 per cent due to lower price of leather footwear. However, the price of leathers moved up.
The index for the 'rubber and plastic products' group declined by 0.7 per cent due to lower price of tubes and plastic products and rubber products.
The index for the 'chemicals and chemical products' group declined by 1.0 per cent due to lower price of non-cyclic compound and organic manure, hair/body oils, basic organic chemicals, dye & dye intermediates, synthetic resin, turpentine oil, pesticides, washing powder and adhesive and gum. However, the price of rubber chemicals, safety matches/match box and ammonium sulphate moved up.
The index for the 'non-metallic mineral products' group rose by 2.2 per cent due to higher price of bricks and tiles, grey cement, marbles and slag cement.
The index for the 'basic metals, alloys and metal products' group declined by 0.7 per cent due to lower price of iron castings, GP, GC sheets, sponge iron, angles, HRC, wire rods and plates, sheets, rounds, pencil ingots, pig iron, billets, iron and steel wire, melting scrap, ferro chrome, rebars, aluminium, ferro manganese, steel and joist and beams.
However, the price of silver and gold and gold ornaments and pipes/tubes/rods/strips, nuts/bolts/screw/ washers, ferro-silicon and brass moved up.
The index for the 'machinery and machine tools' group rose by 0.1 per cent due to higher price of chemical plant equipments and electrical pumps, ball / roller bearing, electric switch gears, engines, communication equipments, TV sets, pump and assembly and fluorescent tubes.
The index for the 'transport, equipment and parts' group rose 0.2 per cent due to higher price of auto rickshaw/tempo/matador, railway axle and wheel and parts of ships/boats etc. However, the price of railway brake gear declined.
The revised inflation rate for December 2014, based on the final wholesale price index for 'all commodities' stood at (-) 0.50 per cent compared to 0.11 per cent as reported earlier.
