There are 336 items with less than 5% WPI inflation, 129 items with inflation in the range of 5%-10%, 100 items with inflation in the range of 10%-20%, 103 items with inflation in the range of 20%-50% and 26 items with inflation of more than 50%, according to WPI inflation analysis conducted by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Majorly, the high inflation in the items of fuel & power segment of WPI inflation has stoked overall WPI inflation in the higher trajectory, said the analysis of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Sanjay Aggarwal, President, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has urged the Union Government to bring the petroleum products in the ambit of GST, sooner than later. High inflation in the fuel products is not only stoking overall inflation but also increasing the cost of raw materials for manufactured products with its cascading impact, Aggarwal said.
The WPI inflation has been in a double digit growth trajectory since last 3 months, stoked by high prices of fuel & power, he said.
The WPI inflation has reached the level of 12.07% in June 2021 from 12.9% in May 2021, 10.7% in April 2021, 7.9% in March 2021, 4.8% in February and 2.5% in January 2021. The WPI stood at (-)1.81% in June 2020, Aggarwal disclosed.
High commodity prices are posing a serious challenge to the small businesses to operate in the difficult pandemic times. These are impacting the cost of production and reducing price-cost margin of the producers and affecting their competitiveness in the domestic and international markets, Aggarwal added.
WPI Inflation trajectories so far
| S. No. | WPI Inflation Range | No. of Items | Description (Prominent Items) |
| 1 | Less than 5% WPI | 336 | Potato, Tomato, Bajra, Cigarette, Wheat flour (Atta), Air Coolers, Sugar, Steel cables, Wine, Milk, among others |
| 2 | 5% ≤ WPI < 10% | 129 | Insulator, Motor cycles, Basmati rice, Salt, Bicycles of all types, Gold & gold ornaments, Rubber Chemicals, among others |
| 3 | 10% ≤ WPI < 20% | 100 | Electricity, Buffalo meat, Iron/Steel Furniture, Wheels/Wheels & parts, Shampoo, among others |
| 4 | 20% ≤ WPI < 50% | 103 | Plastic tube (flexible/non-flexible), Alcohols, Steel Container, Aluminium wire, Egg, Silver, Raw Jute, among others |
| 5 | More than 50% WPI | 26 | Palm Oil, Soyabean Oil, HSD, Crude Petroleum, Onion, Petroleum Coke, Acetic acid, Sulphuric Acid, Orange and Kerosene among others |
| Total Items in WPI Basket | 697 | ||
Source: PHD Research Bureau, PHD Chamber, compiled from Office of Economic Advisor, Government of India
Note: ≥ represents more than or equal to; < represents less than; 3 items having cumulative weight of 0.35 are not included in the above data as their index value stands at 0 in June 2021 data release.
The WPI basket contains a total of around 697 items, which are categorised under major heads of Primary Articles, Fuel and Power and Manufactured Items. Weights are assigned to each commodity in the WPI basket. The manufactured items category has cumulative weight of 64.2, primary articles category has 22.6 weight and fuel and power category has 13.2 weight.
The items with WPI inflation of more than 50% in June 2021 comprise majority of the fuel products which are stoking the overall WPI inflation, said Aggarwal.
