WPI inflation eases to 2.47% in March as food articles turn cheaper

New Delhi: Inflation based on wholesale prices eased marginally to 2.47 percent in March on cheaper food articles, especially pulses and vegetables, official data showed on Monday.

On the basis of Wholesale Price Index (WPI), inflation was 2.48 percent as compared to the WPI inflation in March 2017, which was more than double at 5.11 percent.

According to a government data released today, food articles showed deflation at 0.29 percent in March as against a 0.88 percent inflation in the preceding month.

Deflation in vegetables was 2.70 percent, pulses (20.58 percent) and wheat (1.19 percent) in March.

Inflation in 'fuel and power' basket however rose to 4.70 percent in March from 3.81 percent in the previous month.

The inflation data for January was revised upwards to 3.02 percent from the provisional estimate of 2.84 percent.

Retail inflation, as per data released last week, slipped to a five-month low of 4.28 percent in March on account of decline in food prices.

In its first monetary policy review for the fiscal, the Reserve Bank earlier this month maintained status-quo on interest rate citing inflationary concerns.

It revised downwards forecast for retail inflation to 4.7-5.1 percent for April-September and 4.4 percent for October-March.

News Agency IANS, quoting PHD Chamber, said, the consistent decline in WPI indicated "that the government has undertaken effective measures at the ground to address the supply side problems of the economy during the last few years".

"A significant decline in the inflation of food articles including cereals and pulses is an indicator that the government has rightly focused agriculture sector," Anil Khaitan, President, PHD Chamber was quoted as saying in a statement.

"Going ahead, we look forward to the continuation of favourable policy environment and further easing of monetary policy to strength."

With Agency Inputs