look news india
February wpi inflation: In February 2025, the wholesale inflation rate rose to 2.38 percent. If it is at its highest level in the last 2 months. According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday 17 March, the prices of food and beverage goods have come down. But the increase in the prices of manufactured goods led to an increase in wholesale inflation rate. The wholesale inflation rate in January was 2.3%, compared to 2.61% in February last year.
The wholesale inflation rate is calculated on the basis of the wholesale price index (WPI). The weight of products manufactured in this index is about two-thirds. Whereas the weight of food prices in retail inflation rate based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is about 50%. Due to this, there was a decline in retail inflation in February.
Retail inflation has been steadily declining for the last few months. It fell to 3.6% in February, which was the lowest level in seven months. Meanwhile, food inflation has reached a lowest level of 21 percent. However, this core inflation has increased at the fastest speed in the last 7 months.
Wholesale inflation can remain stable in the future
Economists believe that the wholesale inflation rates are likely to remain around the current level in the coming months. According to the purchasing manager index (PMI) released on March 3, the manufacturers are facing rising costs and they are putting the burden of this cost on consumers due to strong demand. However, if crude oil prices are below $ 80 per barrel, inflation pressure may decrease.
RBI can cut interest rates again
The decline in retail inflation can clear the way to further cut interest rates for the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee is now scheduled in April. In its previous meeting in February, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had cut the repo rate for the first time after a long gap of five years. This deduction has been made after the RBI forecast that inflation could fall to a target of 4%.