New Delhi, 14 November: Due to decline in food items, wholesale inflation rate has also come down to -0.52 percent in October. This is the seventh consecutive month since April when the wholesale inflation rate has been below zero. Earlier in September, wholesale inflation was -0.26 percent.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in the data released on Tuesday that the wholesale inflation rate based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) has declined to -0.52 percent in October. The WPI based wholesale inflation rate in October 2022 was 8.67 percent. Last month in September it was -0.26 percent.
The Ministry added, in August it was -0.52 percent. WPI based wholesale inflation has been continuously below zero since April. The decline in wholesale inflation is due to chemical products, mineral oil and textiles etc.
According to the data, the inflation rate of food items has come down to 2.53 percent in the month of October, which was 3.35 percent in September. Inflation in the fuel and electricity segment was -2.47 percent, which was -3.35 percent in September. Similarly, inflation of manufactured products stood at -1.13 percent in October, whereas it was -1.34 percent in September.
The ministry said that the main reason for wholesale inflation being below zero in October was the decline in prices of chemicals and chemical products, electricity, textiles, basic metals, food products, paper and paper products etc. as compared to the same month last year.
According to the last data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), the retail inflation rate in October has come down to a five-month low of 4.87 percent on an annual basis.
