India’s wholesale inflation eases to 12.41% in August from 13.93% in July

India’s wholesale inflation rate declined to 12.41% in August from 13.93% in July, government data showed on Wednesday.

The indicator of price rise in wholesale markets has remained in double digits since April last year. In August last year, the wholesale inflation rate was 11.64%.

Wholesale inflation in the past month was driven by the rise in prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, basic metals, electricity, chemicals and chemical products, food products etc, the ministry of commerce and industry said.

The inflation rate in food items rose to 12.37% in August from 10.77% in July, the ministry said. In June, it was 14.39%.

Inflation in vegetables also increased to 22.29% in August, as against 18.25% in the previous month.

However, wholesale inflation in the fuel and power category decreased considerably to 33.67% in August from 43.75% in July.

On Tuesday, government data showed that retail inflation in the country climbed to 7% in August after falling for three consecutive months. The price rise indicator was 7.04% in May, 7.01% in June and 6.71% in July.

This is for the straight eight months that retail inflation remained above the upper limit mandated by the Reserve Bank of India. The central bank aims to keep inflation in the range of 2% to 6%.

On August 2, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the Centre was not in denial about inflation in India and that it was taking steps to bring it under 7%.

However, earlier this month, she said that lowering inflation cannot be the sole responsibility of the Centre and that states also play a vital role in it. She had said that states which have not reduced fuel prices have inflation higher than the national average.

On August 5, the Reserve Bank of India also said that inflation is expected to remain above the central bank’s 6% threshold in the second and third quarters of this financial year.