Wholesale food prices spiked in February

New Delhi's wholesale price inflation at 0.2% in February, driven by food and primary articles' price hikes.

India’s wholesale price inflation moderated to a four-month low of 0.2% in February from 0.27% in January, despite an acceleration in food and primary articles’ inflation rates, owing to a sharper year-on-year drop in manufactured products and fuel and power prices.

The Wholesale Food Index (WPI) picked up from 3.8% in January to 4.1% in February, while primary articles’ prices rose 4.5%, compared with 3.84% in the previous month. On a month-on-month basis, the WPI was 0.07% higher, with primary articles rising 0.22% and the Food Index up 0.17%.

Eight of 10 primary food articles recorded higher price rise than January, with five items recording double-digit inflation, including vegetables (19.8%), onion (29.22%), pulses (18.5%) and paddy (10.25%). Potato prices recorded a 15.3% spurt, after at least five months of deflation.

Cereals and wheat inflation hit a three-month high of 6.6% and 2.3%, respectively. Fruit prices dropped 4% in February, while eggs, meat and fish recorded a 0.47% year-on-year decline in prices, the mildest dip in three months. 

Among non-food primary articles, crude petroleum inflation surged to a 14-month high of 16.65%. LPG prices which have been slashed by ₹100 earlier this month, rose 3.8% in February, compared to 0.4% in January. However, overall fuel and gas prices were 1.6% lower than February 2023, marking the sharpest deflation rate in three months.

Eight of 14 manufactured products’ categories recorded price drops from last February, with the overall segment seeing a 1.27% decline in prices, the steepest since October 2023. 

February marks the fourth successive month that the WPI has risen on a year-on-year basis, after seven months of deflation. The Commerce and Industry Ministry raised the wholesale inflation rate for December 2023 to 0.86% from the 0.73% uptick estimated earlier.