India’s annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), eased to eight-month low of 3.80 per cent for the month of December 2018. The index for apparel increased by 0.2 per cent to 138.4 in December, according to the provisional data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, Ministry of Commerce and industry.
The official WPI for all commodities (Base: 2011-12 = 100) for the month of December 2018 declined 1.4 per cent to 120.1 from the previous month’s level of 121.8, the data showed. The index for manufactured products (weight 64.23 per cent) for December 2018 declined by 0.4 per cent to 118.3 from the previous month’s level of 118.8. The index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ sub-group rose by 0.2 per cent to 138.4 from 138.1 for the previous month due to higher price of leather garments including jackets and shawls & scarves (knitted) (1 per cent each).
The index for ‘Manufacture of Textiles’ sub-group also rose by 0.1 per cent to 119.2 from 119.1 from 119.0 for the previous month due to higher price of made-up textiles except apparel (4 per cent) and other textiles (2 per cent). However, the price of synthetic yarn (2 per cent), and texturised & twisted yarn and cordage, rope, twine & netting (1 per cent each) declined. The index for primary articles (weight 22.62 per cent) declined by 1.8 per cent to 134.7 from 137.2 for the previous month. The index for fuel and power (weight 13.15 per cent) declined by 5.9 per cent to 103.5 from 110.0 for the previous month due to lower price of naphtha, furnace oil, LPG, ATF, petrol, bitumen, HSD, petroleum coke and kerosene.
Meanwhile, the all-India consumer price index (CPI) on base 2012=100 stood at 2.19 (provisional) in December 2018 compared to 2.33 (final) in November, 2018 and 5.21 in December, 2017, according to the Central Statistics Office, ministry of statistics and programme implementation.
