According to data provided by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Friday, the nation’s annual rate of inflation, which is based on the all-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI), decreased to 2.31 percent in January of this year from 2.37 percent in December of last year. The WPI for January was down 0.45% month over month from December due to a decline in food costs.
As the price of food items dropped (by -3.62 per month) in January 2025 compared to December 2024, the index for the primary articles group fell by 2.01 percent in January. In January 2025, the prices of minerals (0.22 percent), non-food items (0.66 percent), and crude petroleum and natural gas (6.34 percent) all went up from December 2024. Even though the price of coal didn’t change from the previous month, the fuel and power group’s inflation rate went up by 0.47 percent throughout the month.
In January of this year, manufactured products, which make up 64.23 percent of the index, had a slight gain of 0.14 percent. The data indicated that, of the 22 groups for manufactured goods, 15 groups saw price increases, five groups saw price decreases, and two groups saw no change at all. Manufacturing, machinery and equipment, chemicals and chemical products, pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical and botanical goods, etc. were some significant groups that displayed month-over-month price rises.
The production of basic metals, fabricated metal goods (apart from machinery and equipment), clothing, beverages, and other transportation equipment were among the industries that saw price reductions in January 2025 compared to December 2024. From 8.89 percent in December 2024 to 7.47 percent in January 2025, the WPI Food Index-based annual inflation rate fell.
