Wholesale price index at historical highs in India

Since December 2020, wholesale prices in India have steadily risen, and in May 2021 it registered a growth of 12.9% y/y, the highest ever growth on record.

The increase in overall wholesale prices was driven primarily by an increase in fuel and power prices, which also accelerated by a historic value of 37.6% y/y in May 2021, because of crude oil prices rising globally. The prices of manufactured products have also been firming up on the back of rising raw material prices internationally, May 2021 for which has been 10.8% y/y, another record high.

On the other hand, prices of primary articles have started to moderate from 10.1% y/y in April to 9.6% y/y in May 2021. Food prices also increased, but the pace of the increase has slowed from the previous two months.

Source: CEIC, Central Statistics Office

Further data and analysis on India’s economy are available on the CEIC India Economy in a Snapshot – Q2 2021 report.