16 November 2022, Mumbai:
India’s consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation dropped to 6.77 per cent in October 2022 from 7.41 per cent in September 2022.
The wholesale price index (WPI) fell to a 19-month low, primarily due to subdued rates of food items. The CPI for clothing and footwear rose to 181 in October from 179.9 in September. While retail inflation is the lowest in three months, wholesale inflation declined for the fifth consecutive month.
Prices of commodities like crude oil, iron ore and steel have sobered in global markets. This, coupled with measures taken by the government to rationalise tariff structures of major inputs to augment domestic supply, helped keep cost-push inflation in consumer items under control.
Further, the government has taken trade-related measures on wheat and rice to keep domestic supplies steady and curb the rise in prices. The impact of these measures is expected to be felt more significantly in the coming months. The decline in October inflation was primarily contributed by the fall in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, textiles, other non-metallic mineral products, and minerals.
Polyester-cotton, poly spun and recycled polyester prices have witnessed a steep fall in India.
