Wholesale inflation rises to 11.39 per cent Y-o-Y in August

New Delhi, Sep 14: The wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) rose to 11.39 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) in August, 2021 as compared to 0.41 per cent in August last year.

The higher inflation primarily stemmed from rising prices of manufactured items. Most primary food items showed declining trend, a relief for common households.

Commerce Ministry in a release said that the high rate of inflation in August 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of non-food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, manufactured products like basic metals, food products, textiles, chemicals and chemical products among others.

"The base effect is likely to drive primary food articles deeper into disinflation until November 2021, before a YoY (year-on-year) inflation re-emerges from December 2021 onwards. With the late surge in rains in September, a delay in the kharif harvest may be followed by late rabi sowing, exacerbated by the YoY decline in reservoir levels," said ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar.

She noted that the headline and core-WPI inflation are expected to print in double-digits until October 2021, and then halve by the end of the year.

"The mild uptick in the August 2021 WPI print does not alter our expectation of a status quo in the upcoming October 2021 MPC review," Nayar said.