Wholesale Inflation Fall To 12.98 Per Cent

New Delhi

Wholesale inflation eased to 12.98 per cent in January. This is the official information given by central government on Monday. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 13.56 percent in December 2021. However, the rate of retail inflation is not relieving the general public right now. At least that is what Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has hinted today. He said, retail inflation may rise in January, but there is nothing to panic about it.

According to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), the inflation rate was 14.7 per cent in November 2021, 13.56 per cent in December 2021 and 12.96 percent in January this year. And this state of inflation has become a source of headache for economic policy makers as well. According to the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the prices of mineral oil, crude oil and natural gas, metals, chemicals and chemical products, food items have increased slightly compared to last year. Due to which problems are being created. Although the overall rate of inflation is lower than the previous month, the real fact is that the jump in food prices has increased.

The wholesale food price index was 9.24 per cent in December 2021 and 9.55 per cent in January 2022. Mineral prices rose 11.06 per cent. Prices of non-food items rose 0.36 percent in January from a year earlier. Significantly, same period of the year 2020, the rate of inflation rose sharply.

On the same day, the central bank governor said, "Today's inflation is clearly expected to be around 6 per cent. So there is no need to be surprised or terrified, because we have it in our minds." There is a fine balance between inflation and growth and the Reserve Bank is fully aware of its commitment to inflation, he added. Das made the remarks after a formal post-budget meeting with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and central bank board. Last week, the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee set interest rates unchanged to ensure a sustainable economic recovery and set a target of bringing retail inflation down to 4.5 percent in the next fiscal year.

Special Correspondent