According to the data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), edible oils and fat products have emptied the pockets of the general public the most in February. According to the data, the inflation rate of edible oils and fats stood at 16.44 per cent year-on-year last month.
However, the inflation rate of edible oils in urban areas remained lower than the combined level of 13.20 per cent. Whereas in rural areas it is 18.09 percent. Apart from this, the inflation rate of footwear has been in double digits at 10.10 percent. It is 8.75 percent in urban area and 11.04 percent in rural area. Retail inflation for all other major commodities remained in single digits.
Let us tell you that in February 2022, the consumer price index (CPI) i.e. retail inflation stood at 6.07 percent with a slight increase. Retail inflation was 5.03 per cent in the same period a year ago. It was 6.01 per cent in January this year. However, it remains above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper limit target.
Wholesale inflation reached 13.11 percent
On the other hand, WPI inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index rose to 13.11 per cent. Wholesale inflation has remained above 10 per cent for the 11th consecutive month since April 2021. WPI stood at 12.96 per cent in January 2022, while it stood at 4.83 per cent in February last year. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the main reason for the increase in inflation in February, 2022 is the increase in the prices of mineral oils, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, crude petroleum and natural gas and non-food items etc.
Petrol and diesel will give a big blow
Inflation in crude petroleum rose to 55.17 per cent in February, from 39.41 per cent in January due to rising global crude oil prices. Crude petroleum inflation stood at 19.54 per cent in the same period a year ago. Inflation of crude petroleum can give a big blow to the retail level in the coming days.
Pakistan has only five days of diesel reserves, banks refuse to give loans to oil companies
The reason for this is that there has been no change in the prices of petrol and diesel in the domestic market for almost four months. On an annual basis, the wholesale inflation of LPG has increased from 1.42 per cent to 26.27 per cent, that of petrol to 58.33 per cent from 4.96 per cent and that of diesel to 53.59 per cent from 3.16 per cent.
States with highest inflation: Jammu & Kashmir, Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh
States with lowest inflation: Delhi, Gujarat, Punjab, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli
Retail inflation being fixed on the basis of decades old goods
The retail inflation rate in the country is determined on the basis of the prices of 299 items. There are many items in this which are decades old and there is no justification to include them in the calculation of CPI. According to an official involved in the calculations, at least 10 to 12 per cent of the items in the CPI basket are inactive. This also includes items such as CDs, audio cassettes or Nokia phones. Therefore, there can be no justification for their use in the calculation of inflation. Other passive accessories include cable TV connections, VCD or DVD rentals, CDs, DVDs, audio-video cassettes, two-in-one radios, tape recorders.