The inflation in food articles stood at 1.60% in May as compared to 0.87% in the previous month
The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose to a 14-month high of 4.43% in May as compared to 3.18% in April, led by high prices of fuel and vegetables. It was 2.26% in the year-ago period.
The inflation in food articles stood at 1.60% in May as compared to 0.87% in the previous month. Wholesale inflation in vegetables was up 2.51% in May as compared to -0.89% in April. However, inflation in fruits came down at 15.40% in May as compared to 19.47% in the previous month. Potato inflation touched a high of 81.93% as against 67.94% in the previous month.
Fuel and power inflation rose sharply to 11.22% in May from 7.85% in April.
"An expected uptick in the inflation for crude oil contributed to the hardening of wholesale inflation. Core inflation or the inflation in non-food manufactured products rose sharply, reflecting the pass through of higher input costs to wholesale prices in many sectors," said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at Icra.
The sequential uptick in the WPI inflation in May was fairly broad-based, led by all the major categories except manufactured food products. Weakness in prices of pulses doused the seasonal uptrend in prices of other food items, curtailing the rise in primary food inflation at a muted 1.6% in May 2018, added Nayar.
"The WPI inflation is expected to harden by up to 80 bps in the ongoing month before easing somewhat in Q2 FY2019. Key factors that would influence the inflation trajectory include the level at which global crude oil prices stabilise and the extent to which they are transmitted to domestic fuel prices, the trend in the monsoon dispersion and the extent of change in MSPs (minimum supply prices)," said Nayar.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Wholesale inflation")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}