new Delhi: According to the data released by the commerce ministry on March 14, the wholesale price-based inflation rose to 13.11 per cent in February. According to these data, this increase in the wholesale inflation rate was seen due to increase in the prices of food items. Thus, wholesale inflation remained in double digits for the 11th consecutive month since April 2021.
“The higher rate of inflation in February 2022 is mainly due to increase in prices of mineral oils, base metals, chemicals and chemical products, crude petroleum and natural gas, food items and non-food items, etc., as compared to the same month. Last year,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement as quoted by news agency ANI.
WPI Inflation in January
In January, the wholesale inflation rate was 12.96 percent. Earlier it was 13.56 per cent in December 2021. According to a statement issued by the government, the prices of mineral oil, basic metals, chemical and chemical products, crude petroleum and natural gas, food articles and non-food items have increased sharply as compared to the same month last year. Inflation remained high.
Read also: Record fall in Paytm shares, trading down 12% at Rs 685
Meanwhile, inflation in food articles declined to 8.19 per cent in February as compared to January. Inflation in food articles stood at 10.33 per cent in January. The wholesale inflation of vegetables has come down from 38.45 per cent in January to 26.93 per cent in February.
In February, the wholesale price of onion saw a decline of 26.37 percent. At the same time, there was a jump of 14.78 percent in the price of potatoes. Eggs, meat and fish saw a jump of 8.14 per cent, while wheat prices saw a jump of 11.03 per cent. Due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, wheat prices have seen a jump all over the world.
RBI did not change interest rates
Significantly, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) did not make any change in the key repo rate in the monetary policy meeting in February. The central bank had decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent for the 10th time in a row to support growth and manage inflationary pressures.