• Inflation in wholesale prices hit a five-month high of 12.54% in October, rising significantly from 10.66% in September.
  • This is due to rapid hike in prices of most commodities led by fuel and power, vegetables and oils as well as chemicals.
  • Wholesale fuel and power inflation shot up to 37.2% in October, from about 25% the previous month, while manufactured products’ inflation hardened to over 12%.
  • Partly reflecting the issues related to coal availability, the electricity sub index spiked by 19% sequentially, pushing up the overall fuel inflation to a sharp 37%. Moreover, while crude oil prices firmed up, the index for natural gas surged by 31% month-on-month,” said ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar.
  • The Wholesale Food Price Index also rose 3.06% compared to 1.14% in September.
  • The Office of the Economic Advisor  in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), which releases the WPI, stated, “The high rate of inflation in October 2021 is primarily due to the rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, food products, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, etc. as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year”.
  • Retail inflation in October recorded a less pronounced uptick in October, moving to 4.48% from 4.35% in September. However, urban India experienced an inflation of over 5%, and oils and transport and communication clocked a sharp rise across the country, while vegetable costs jumped from the preceding month’s level.