The year-over-year inflation rate, based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 2.61 percent (provisional) for May 2024, compared to May 2023. The positive inflation rate in May 2024 is primarily attributed to the rise in prices of food articles, food products manufacturing, crude petroleum and natural gas, mineral oils, and various other manufactured goods.
The Primary Articles index saw a 0.54 percent increase, reaching 187.7 (provisional) in May 2024, up from 186.7 (provisional) in April 2024. Specifically, prices for food articles rose by 1.48 percent and minerals by 1.08 percent. However, prices for non-food articles fell by 1.26 percent, and crude petroleum and natural gas dropped by 3.56 percent in May 2024 compared to April 2024.
The Fuel & Power index decreased by 2.71 percent to 150.6 (provisional) in May 2024 from 154.8 (provisional) in April 2024. The prices of mineral oils and coal remained stable, while electricity prices fell by 11.67 percent in May 2024 compared to April 2024.
For Manufactured Products, the index increased by 0.64 percent, reaching 141.7 (provisional) in May 2024 from 140.8 (provisional) in April 2024. Out of the 22 NIC two-digit groups, 13 experienced price increases, 8 saw price decreases, and 1 remained constant. Notable groups with rising prices included basic metals, food products, computer, electronic and optical products, electrical equipment, and other manufacturing. Groups with falling prices included fabricated metal products (excluding machinery and equipment), other non-metallic mineral products, chemicals and chemical products, tobacco products, and other transport equipment in May 2024 compared to April 2024.
The Food Index, combining ‘food articles’ from primary articles and ‘food products’ from manufactured products, increased from 183.6 in April 2024 to 185.7 in May 2024. The WPI Food Index inflation rate rose from 5.52 percent in April 2024 to 7.40 percent in May 2024.
