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Wholesale Price Index-based inflation for July came in at a five-month low of 5.19 per cent. This is lower than the 5.43 per cent recorded in the previous month. The latest inflation print is also lower than the 5.85 per cent recorded in July 2013.
The WPI numbers didn’t surprise the markets much as was the case when retail inflation data was released a few days back.
Meanwhile, the WPI inflation for May has now been revised upwards to 6.18 per cent from the 6.01 per cent estimated earlier, making it the third revision in recent months.
Core inflation for July 2014 came in at 3.32 per cent as against 3.49 per cent in the previous month.
Food inflation for the month under review came in at 8.43 per cent as against 8.13 per cent in the previous month.
Economists have ruled out any policy rate cut by the Reserve Bank of India during the current calendar year. Any fear of the RBI resorting to a rate hike this calendar year is also premature, they said.
Commenting on the WPI inflation, Anis Chakravarty, Senior Director, Deloitte in India, said that the decline in WPI has largely been due to moderation in fuel prices and supported by a marginal decline in the prices of primary articles.
“The latest data has reconfirmed that the current levels of inflation are largely food and retail driven. Undoubtedly, the fact that the core inflation is lower is reassuring, but we can see that food prices are still above the comfort level,” he said.
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