New Delhi: For the month of May, 2021 (Provisional) and for the month of March, 2021 (Final), index numbers of Wholesale price in India were declared during a press release by the Office of Economic Advisor, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade.

On 14th of every month, provisional figures of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) are always released with a time lag of two weeks of the reference month based on data compiled from institutional sources and selected manufacturing units across the country. The index is then finalized and final figures are released after ten weeks.

The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, was 12.94% (Provisional) for the month of May 2021 (over May 2020) as compared to -3.37% in May 2020. The high rate of inflation in May 2021 is primarily due to the low base effect and rise in prices of crude petroleum, mineral oils viz. petrol, diesel, naphtha, furnace oil, etc., and manufactured products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year. The annual change in the components of the WPI index and inflation in the last three months is given below.

Month over Month Change in WPI Index for the month of May,2021

Month over Month Change in Major Groups of WPI

1. Primary Articles (Weight 22.62%):- The index for this major group declined by 0.86% to 150.5 (Provisional) in May 2021 from 151.8 (Provisional) for the month of April 2021. Prices of Non-food Articles increased in May 2021 (as compared to April 2021) by 1.26%, Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas by 0.67% and Food Articles declined by 1.48%.
2. Fuel & Power (Weight 13.15%):- The index for this major group increased by 1.75% to 110.5 (Provisional) in May 2021 from 108.6 (Provisional) for the month of April 2021. Prices of Mineral Oils increased by 3.12% in May 2021 as compared to April 2021.
3. Manufactured Products (Weight 64.23%): - The index for this major group increased by 1.24% to 131.0 (Provisional) in May 2021. Out of the 22 NIC two-digit groups for Manufactured products, 17 groups have witnessed an increase in prices, 4 groups have witnessed a decrease in May 2021 as compared to April 2021 and for one group the prices remained unchanged. The increase in prices is primarily contributed by the manufacture of basic metals, food products, fabricated metals, chemical & chemical products, and electrical equipment. Four groups that have witnessed a decrease in prices are the manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products; wood and of products of wood and cork; textiles; tobacco products, while the manufacture of rubber and plastics products remain unchanged in May 2021 as compared to April 2021.

WPI Food Index (Weight 24.38%)

The Food Index consisting of 'Food Articles' from Primary Articles group and 'Food Product' from Manufactured Products group have decreased by 0.19% from 158.9 in April, 2021 to 158.6 in May, 2021.

Final index for March, 2021 (BASE YEAR: 2011-12=100)

For the month of March 2021, the final WPI and inflation rate for All Commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) stood at 129.9 and 7.89% respectively. The details of All India Wholesale Price Indices and Rates of Inflation for different commodity groups for May 2021 are at Annex I. The Annual rate of Inflation (Y-o-Y) based on WPI for different commodity groups in the last six months is at Annex II. The WPI Index for different commodity groups in the last six months is at Annex III.

Response Rate

The WPI for May 2021 has been compiled at a weighted response rate of 72 percent, while the final figure for March 2021 is based on the weighted response rate of 91 percent. The Provisional figures of WPI will undergo revision as per the final revision policy of WPI. This press release, item indices, and inflation numbers are available on our home page http://eaindustry.nic.in

All India Wholesale Price Indices and Rates of Inflation (Base Year: 2011-12=100) for May, 2021

Annex-II

Annex-III