Wholesale inflation up for third month in a row; rises to 1.62% on dearer food items

Wholesale inflation in June rose to 1.62%, a steep rise compared to the -2.13% registered in the same month last year. 

At 1.62%, wholesale inflation has risen more-than-expected -- markets expected wholesale-led price rise to be a 1.19% increase. It is also significantly higher than the 0.79% registered in May. 

In the third straight month of gains, wholesale inflation rose in June, hurt by food and manufactured products whose prices went up at a faster pace while the cost of petrol fell less than in the preceding month, TradingEconomics.com said. 

"In June, food prices increased by 8.18% from a year earlier, following a 7.88% rise in the preceding month. Among food prices, potatoes recorded the highest increase (+64.48%), followed by pulses (+26.61%), vegetables (+16.91%); egg, meat & fish (+6.67%), wheat (+6.83%) cereals (+6.32%), fruits (+5.97%) and rice (+3.37%). In contrast, prices declined for: onion (-28.60%)," it said. 

The weightage of food items in the entire index is 14.3%. 

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices rose 1.4% in June, the same pace as in the previous two months.

Source: TradingEconomics.com

In non-food items, Cost of manufactured products increased by 1.17%, as compared to a 0.91% rise in the previous month while