Overview
- Manufactured products posted 2.92% inflation year on year, the biggest driver of the WPI, with basic metals, textiles and other manufacturing contributing, while non-food articles rose 8.80% and food articles 2.19% as vegetable inflation eased.
- Fuel and power remained in year-on-year deflation at 3.78%, though the sub-index increased 1.17% from January on higher mineral-oil prices.
- The overall index rose 0.25% month on month in February, marking a fourth consecutive monthly rise in wholesale prices.
- Retail inflation under the CPI quickened to 3.21% in February in the new 2024-base series, which the Reserve Bank of India uses for policy decisions.
- Economists cite risks from the West Asia conflict and higher crude, with Barclays expecting stronger pass-through to wholesale prices and India Ratings projecting a March WPI near 3.7% as the Indian crude basket averaged about $101 per barrel by March 12.