September 2024 Wholesale Price Index Update
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for September 2024 shows an annual inflation rate of 1.84%, based on the 2011-12 base year. This increase is mainly due to higher prices in food articles, food products, and manufacturing sectors like motor vehicles and machinery.
Overall WPI and Monthly Changes
The WPI for all commodities reached 154.6 in September, a slight increase from 154.5 in August. Compared to last year, the inflation rate rose from 1.31% in August to 1.84% in September.
Primary Articles
The Primary Articles category, with a weight of 22.62%, saw its index rise by 0.41% to 195.7. Annual inflation for these articles jumped to 6.59% from 2.42% in August. Prices for minerals, non-food articles, and food articles increased, while crude petroleum and natural gas prices fell by 5.74%.
Fuel and Power
The Fuel and Power segment, making up 13.15% of the index, decreased by 0.81% to 146.9. The annual inflation rate here dropped to -4.05%, with mineral oil prices down by 1.72% and electricity prices slightly up by 1.34%.
Manufactured Products
In the Manufactured Products category, which holds the largest weight of 64.23%, the index rose by 0.14% to 141.8. However, annual inflation softened to 1.00%. Price increases were noted in food products and electronic products, while declines were seen in basic metals and textiles.
Food Index Surge
The WPI Food Index, covering both primary and manufactured food items, rose from 193.2 in August to 195.3 in September, pushing the annual inflation rate for food items to 9.47% from 3.26%.
Monthly Trends
Over the past six months, April and July saw significant growth in wholesale prices, while August experienced a contraction before a modest rebound in September. The next WPI release for October 2024 is scheduled for November 14, 2024.
Doubts Revealed
WPI -: WPI stands for Wholesale Price Index. It measures the average change in prices of goods sold in bulk, like food and manufactured products, before they reach the consumer.
Inflation -: Inflation is when the prices of goods and services increase over time, making things more expensive to buy. In this context, it means that the cost of food and manufacturing items has gone up.
Deflationary trend -: A deflationary trend is when prices of goods and services decrease over time. Here, it means that the prices in the Fuel and Power category have gone down.
Primary Articles -: Primary Articles are raw materials or basic goods that are used to produce other products. They include things like food grains and minerals.
Manufactured Products -: Manufactured Products are items that have been processed or made from raw materials, like clothes, cars, and electronics.
Food Index -: The Food Index is a measure of how much the prices of food items have changed. A surge in the Food Index means that food prices have increased significantly.