The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) or wholesale inflation for the month of February stood at 6.55% (provisional) for the month of February, 2017 (over February, 2016) as compared to 5.25% (provisional) for the previous month and -0.85% during the corresponding month of the previous year.  

Bloomberg had estimated WPI inflation at 6.1% for the month of February.

For the month of  December, 2016, the final Wholesale Price Index for ‘All Commodities’ (Base: 2004-05=100) stood at 183.3 as compared to 182.8 (provisional) and annual rate of inflation based on final index stood at 3.68% as compared to 3.39 percent (provisional) respectively as reported on 16.01.2017, Ministry of Commerce & Industry said. 

Aditi Nayar, Principal Economist, ICRA Ltd said, "We had expected an adverse base effect to push up WPI inflation in February 2017 to 5.9%. The lagged revision in the minerals sub-index, particularly for crude oil, contributed to the sharper-than-anticipated spike in WPI inflation to 6.5% in February 2017, as well as the upward revision in the December 2016 print to 3.7%."

Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 5.82% compared to a build up rate of -1.14% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

As per the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the index for fuel and power major group rose by 1.3 percent to 203.8 (provisional) from 201.2  (provisional) for the previous month. The index for manufactured products major group remained unchanged at its previous month’s level of 158.8 (provisional). 

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The index for primary articles group rose by 0.9% to 258.1 (provisional) from 255.7 (provisional) for the previous month. The index for  ‘Food Articles’ group rose by 0.1 percent to 267.5 (provisional) from 267.2  (provisional) for the previous month.

Nayar said, "The continued seasonal uptrend in prices of perishables is likely to outweigh the persisting fall in prices of pulses, contributing to a further hardening of food inflation in March 2017. However, the sharp correction in crude oil prices witnessed over the last week would douse minerals inflation in March 2017, restraining headline WPI inflation at around 6.0% in that month."