Wholesale deflation at 0.92% in April

Wholesale inflation rate eased to 34-month low of (-) 0.92 per cent in April on easing prices of food, fuel and manufactured items. The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation has been on a declining trend for 11 months in a row and entered the negative zone in April. In June 2020 WPI was at (-) 1.81 per cent.

WPI inflation was 1.34 per cent in March and 15.38 per cent in April last year.Inflation in food articles too eased to 3.54 per cent in April, against 5.48 per cent in March.

"Decline in the rate of inflation in April, 2023 is primarily contributed by fall in prices of basic metals, food products, mineral oils, textiles, non-food articles, chemical & chemical products, rubber & plastic products and paper & paper products," the commerce and industry ministry said on Monday.

Fuel and power basket inflation eased to 0.93 per cent in April from 8.96 per cent in March. In manufactured products, inflation rate was (-) 2.42 per cent, as against 0.77 per cent in March.

The deceleration in WPI comes in line with the easing of April retail inflation, which came in at an 18-month low of 4.70 per cent.