Wholesale Price Index for Dec at 3.39 per cent, records minor gain against Nov's 3.15 per cent

The Wholesale price index (WPI) data stood at 3.39 per cent in December as against 3.15 per cent in November, after oil prices surged as OPEC in its meeting decided to cut oil output.

Wholesale prices of goods and commodities rose in December snapping a three-month decline on Monday.

In December food index declined by 1.2 per cent to 256.3 from 259.4 for the previous month. Prices of fruits and vegetables, pulses eased on subdued demand after the demonetisation.  

However, Non-Food Articles group rose by 1.9 percent to 225.6 (provisional) from 221.4 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of flowers (10%), raw rubber (9%), copra (coconut) and groundnut seed (6% each), raw silk (5%), gingelly seed and raw cotton (2% each) and soyabean, sugarcane and safflower (kardi seed) (1% each). However, the price of raw jute (4%), sunflower (3%), rape & mustard seed (2%) and coir fibre, niger seed, linseed and raw wool (1% each) declined.

The maximum gainer in WPI December is prices of minerals. The group rose by 2.8 percent to 213.3 (provisional) from 207.4 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of magnesite and sillimanite (15% each), manganese ore (11%), iron ore (7%), phosphorite and crude petroleum (4% each) and chromite (1%). However, the price of copper ore (8%) declined.

In November 2016, WPI eased after the Narendra Modi-led government defunct the use of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes in an effort to get rid of black money problem and counterfeit notes. In November due to demonetisation,  86 per cent (in value terms) of currency was wiped out of the system with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and banks grappling to meet the cash crunch post note ban.