News in brief: India wholesale price index (WPI) fell by 0.92 in April 2023, the first decline since 2020, indicating softening prices across the board.
In India, prices are softening across board in April 2023. For the first time since 2020, its annual wholesale price index (WPI) fell by 0.92 when compared to the previous month.
WPI is an important metric that shows the average change in prices of goods traded in wholesale markets. It is an indicator of inflation in goods on wholesale markets before they reach retail level. Governments use it to set monetary policies as it helps track market trends and businesses can use it to formulate strategies.
As the world’s fifth largest consumer market in the world, India’s economic movement is a cause of concern for everyone. Its WPI had been up by 1.34% in March, so, the drop is impressive. Meanwhile, the country’s food index still rose by 0.17% YoY in April, which is better than its 2.32% increment the previous month. Fuel and power price was up by 0.93% when it had risen by 8.96% in March 2023.
India’s WPI was at a 20-year high in May 2022 but Reuters said that it has been dropping since then for the past 11 months. Falling crude, energy, non-food and food prices contributed to the reducing inflation. This trend is in keeping with the World Bank economic output for 2023 that was mentioned in this article.
Additional details seen over the weekend shows that the country’s annual retail inflation dropped to an 18-month low in April. It has stayed below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance limit for the second time in a row.
