Wholesale inflation rate (WPI inflation) has reached 15.88 percent in the month of May. Whereas in the month of April, the wholesale inflation rate was 15.08 percent. At the same time, according to government data released on Tuesday, the wholesale inflation rate in May is at the highest level since 2012.
Inflation on food articles increased from 8.88 per cent in April to 10.89 per cent in May. Inflation in vegetables stood at 56.36 per cent, as against 23.24 per cent in April. Inflation on manufactured items stood at 10.11 per cent in May, as against 10.85 per cent in April. The rate of growth during the month of May on fuel and power was 40.62 per cent. It is worth noting that wholesale inflation has remained in double digits since April 2021. On the other hand, retail inflation in May 2022 fell to 7.04 per cent from an eight-year high in April. In the same period of 2021, the wholesale inflation rate stood at 13.11 per cent.
GDP growth rate estimated at 7.2 percent: Last week, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee unanimously voted to raise the benchmark policy rate by 50 basis points, followed by the repo rate to 4.90 percent. The GDP growth forecast for the fiscal year 2022-23 has been retained at 7.2 per cent, while the inflation forecast has been raised to 6.7 per cent. According to the Monetary Policy Committee, inflation was expected to remain above 6 per cent in the first three quarters of the fiscal year 2022-23.
Discussion started on social media: As soon as the figures of wholesale inflation came to the fore, the discussion started on social media as well. A user named Neha (@NehaKoppula) wrote on Twitter, “Wholesale inflation reached a new high of 15.88 per cent in May during Modi’s ‘Amrit Kaal’ as compared to 15.08 per cent in April and food inflation at 8.88% in April.” increased from 10.89% in May. At the same time, John (@John55719684) wrote, “WPI and CPI are spurious words invented intelligently by so called economists to deceive people in the name of inflation.”
A user named Romit Bose (@romitbose) wrote, “Wholesale Inflation reached an all time high of 15.88%. We will soon see another hike in the RBI rate. Anyway, we have more important things to dispose of, like: is the Shivling or the fountain, the closed doors of the Taj Mahal”