Wholesale Prices Deflate by 3.21% Despite Rise in Food Prices

Wholesale prices deflated by 3.21 percent in May due to the sharp decline in prices of fuel and power.

According to data released by the ministry of commerce and industry, wholesale prices deflated by 3.21% for the month of May due to sharp decline in prices of fuel and power even as food articles became more expensive, reported PTI.

"The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at (-) 3.21% (provisional) for May 2020 as compared to 2.79% during the corresponding month of the previous year," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.

Inflation in food articles during May stood at 1.13%, as against 2.55% in April. Meanwhile, deflation In fuel and power basket, deflation of fuel and power stood at 19.83% in May, compared to 10.12% in April.

While manufactured products witnessed a deflation of 0.42% in May, tobacco products saw inflation of 4.83%.

Due to the nationwide lockdown imposed since 25 March, the ministry had released truncated WPI inflation data for April, but the final data is expected to be released by the end of the month.

For the month of March, WPI based rate of inflation stood at 0.42% as compared to its provisional levels of 1.00% reported on 14 April.

(With inputs from PTI)