Inflation slips to 8.66% in April...Feb reading revised

India's annual inflation edged lower last month from March but was still slightly above consensus expectations, government data released showed. Annual, point-to-point inflation for April decreased to 8.66% from 9.04% in March, the Union Commerce & Industry Minister said. Average expectation was for inflation to fall to 8.4%.



The Government revised upwards inflation rate for February, to 9.54% versus the provisional reading of 8.31%. The official WPI for ‘All Commodities’ for the month under review rose by 1% to 150.6 from 148.6 in the previous month. Inflation was at 10.88% during the corresponding month of the previous year. Build up inflation in the financial year so far was 1.34% compared to a build up of 1.76% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Annual rate of inflation in the Primary Articles group fell to 12.05% in April from 12.96% in the previous month, the Commerce Ministry said. It was at 21.45% in the year-ago period. The index for the Primary Articles group rose by 2.2% to 191.6 from 187.4 in the previous month.

Annual inflation in the Fuel & Power group increased to 13.32% in April from 12.92% in the previous month, the Commerce Ministry said. It was at 13.61% in the year-ago period. The index for the Fuel & Power group rose by 1.1% to 159.9 from 158.2 in the previous month. In Fuel category, prices of LPG climbed by 11.3% while that of Petrol jumped by 21.81% and High Speed Diesel by 5.5%.

Inflation in the Manufactured Products group fell to 6.18% in April from 6.21% in March, the Commerce Ministry said. It was at 6.41% in the corresponding period a year ago. The index for the Manufactured Products group rose by 1.04% to 135.8 from 134.4 in the previous month.

In Manufactured Products category, Edible Oil prices shot up by 13%, while the price of Cotton Textiles and Man-made Textiles surged by ~25% and ~12%, respectively. Iron & Semis prices rose by 11.4%, while that of Rubber & Plastics by over 9%.

Inflation in the Food Articles group fell to 8.71% last month from 9.47% in March, the Commerce Ministry said. It was at 20.49% in the same period last year. The index for Food Articles group rose by 2.5% to 183.5 from 179.1 in the previous month.

In Food Articles, prices of Fruits increased by nearly 29% while that of Onions and Egg, Meat & fish rose by more than 10%. Prices of Pulses declined by 6.37%. Milk prices increased by 4.7%.

Annual inflation in the Non-food Articles group increased to 27.33% in April from 25.88% in the previous month, the Commerce Ministry said. It was at 18.08% in the year-ago period. The index for Non- Food Articles group rose by 2% to 192.9 from 189.2 in the previous month.

In Non-food category, prices of Fibres rose by 86% while that of Oil Seeds by almost 10%.

Inflation in the Minerals group decreased to 7.41% in April from 12.22% in March, the Commerce Ministry said. It was at 34.56% in the same period a year ago. The index for Mineral group rose by 1.5% to 263.9 from 259.9 in the previous month.