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Of late, inflation has softened noticeably. As Table 1 shows, Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation has crashed to its lowest level in considerable time, and the trend is all downward.
And, as Table 2 reveals, even Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation has gone below 6.5 per cent and exhibits a downward trend.
Meanwhile, although manufacturing WPI seemed to have an upward trend, that has been reversed in the last set of numbers, according to Table 3.
Perhaps that is because a nascent recovery in the manufacturing sector in the middle of the year seems to have lost force, as Table 4 demonstrates.
What lies behind this inflation reduction? As Table 5 shows, the decline in international crude oil prices has been particularly sharp.
But even the main driver of inflation, food prices, have seen a slight dip in their rate of increase, as Table 6 shows.
For some major foods, like rice and sugar, the decrease in prices over the past three months has been noticeable, as shown in Table 7.
Compiled by BS Research Bureau
Graphics by Anisha Dutta
