Coal news and updates

Inflation cools to 7-month low of 5.05% in January

February 14: Wholesale inflation eased to a seven-month low of 5.05% in January, on decline in the rate of price rise in food articles, mainly vegetables.

This is the second straight month of decline in the wholesale price-based inflation. The WPI was at 6.16% in December.

During January, inflation in food articles came down sharply to 8.80% as against 13.68% in the preceding month, according to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data.

Data released earlier this week showed that retail inflation declined to a 2-year low of 8.79% in January, while industrial output contracted by 0.6% in December.

The decline in inflation is much along expected lines of the Reserve Bank of India, which had hiked key interest rates by 0.25% in its monetary policy review last month. The Reserve Bank factors in both retail and wholesale price-based inflation data in its monetary policy.

There have been demands from various quarters that the RBI should look at relaxing interest rates as inflation was showing signs of easing and slowdown persisted in industrial output.

According to the WPI data, inflation in the primary articles basket and the fuel and power segments was at 6.84% and 10.03%, respectively.

Inflation in manufactured products such as sugar and edible oils was up marginally at 2.76% on a monthly basis.