New Delhi. There has been a reduction in retail inflation in the month of May, but the rate of wholesale inflation has reached a record high. In the month of May, the rate of wholesale inflation reached close to 16 percent. Wholesale inflation remained above 15 per cent for the second consecutive month in May. According to the data released by the government, the rate of inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index reached a record high of 15.88 percent. The retail inflation rate released in the last days also remained above seven per cent despite being low. Keep in mind that in order to keep inflation under control, the Reserve Bank of India has increased the repo rate for two consecutive months.
However, inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index was 15.08 per cent in April this year, which rose to 15.88 per cent in May. On a year-on-year basis, the wholesale inflation in May last year was 13.11 per cent. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has said in a statement regarding the wholesale inflation – the high rate of inflation in May 2022 was mainly due to the consumption of mineral oils, crude oil and natural gas, foodstuffs, basic metals, non-food items, chemicals and chemical products and This is due to the increase in the prices of food products etc. as compared to the corresponding month of last year.
Keep in mind that inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index has remained in double digits for the 14th consecutive month since April last year and has been increasing continuously for the last three months. It is believed that the increase in the inflation of food items has led to increase in the wholesale inflation. Inflation in food items in May stood at 12.34 per cent. Besides, the prices of vegetables, wheat, fruits and potatoes increased sharply as compared to a year ago. Vegetable prices increased by 56.36 per cent, wheat by 10.55 per cent and eggs, meat and fish by 7.78 per cent. Fuel and electricity inflation stood at 40.62 per cent.
