Wholesale inflation at 5.77% in June, highest since December 2013

The increase is driven in large part by rising fuel prices

Inflation at the wholesale level increased to 5.77% in June, the highest it has been since December 2013, driven in large part by rising fuel prices, according to official data released on Monday.

Growth in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) accelerated in June from 4.43% in May, and is far higher than the 0.9% seen in June of last year.

While inflation in the primary articles component of the Index quickened to 5.3% in June from 3.16% in May, this was not due to food price inflation, which accelerated only marginally to 1.8% from 1.6% over the same period.

Instead, the real push upwards in wholesale inflation came from the crude petroleum and natural gas segment, which saw inflation surging to 48.7% in June from 26.9% in the previous month. Similarly, the fuel and power segment saw inflation quicken to 16.2% from 11.2% over the same period.

Wholesale inflation in the manufacturing sector accelerated in June to 4.17% from 3.73% in May.