WPI inflation eases to 12.41% in August; remains in double-digit for 17th consecutive month

The wholesale price-based inflation eased for the third consecutive month in August to 12.41 per cent, on softening in prices of manufactured items, even as food items saw an uptick. The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was 13.93 per cent in July and 11.64 per cent in August last year. August is the 17th consecutive month of double-digit wholesale price inflation (WPI).

The WPI had touched a record high of 15.88 per cent in May, this year. Inflation in food articles in August rose to 12.37 per cent, as against 10.77 per cent in July.

The rate of price rise in vegetables was 22.29 per cent during the month under review, as against 18.25 per cent in July.

In the fuel and power basket, inflation was 33.67 per cent in August, as against 43.75 per cent in July. In manufactured products and oil seeds it was 7.51 per cent and (-) 13.48 per cent, respectively.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) mainly looks at retail inflation to frame its monetary policy.

Retail inflation has remained above the Reserve Bank's upper tolerance threshold of 6 per cent for the eighth month in a row and was at 7 per cent in August.

To tame stubbornly high inflation, the RBI has hiked the key interest rate three times this year to 5.40 per cent. According to the central bank's projections retail inflation is likely to average 6.7 per cent in 2022-23.