Consumer price index rise in April, at 6%, the same as in March

The new consumer price index launched this February was 106 points in April (base 100 of 2010), the same level as witnessed in March.

This is in contrast to the wholesale price index (WPI), which rose 1.76 per cent in April to 150.6 points, as compared to March. WPI inflation as measured by capturing the annual rise in the index level, was 8.66 per cent in April, compared to 9.04 per cent in March.

The exact inflation rate in terms of CPI will be known only in Janaury 2012. But if the average prices of 2010 are taken as a comparable figure, consumer prices rose six per cent in April, the same level as in March.

It is the same story in food prices, the Reserve Bank’s prime concern for some time. The WPI food index rose 2.46 per cent in April to 183.5 points. However, the food CPI rose just 0.84 per cent, to 107 points in April. The Reserve Bank had raised policy rates by 50 basis points earlier this month, to curb inflation, the ninth rise since early last year.

Given, the fact the oil marketing companies have since raised petrol prices by Rs 5 a litre and there is talk of raising diesel and liquified petroleum gas prices as well, economists expect the RBI to raise policy rates in its June policy reivew as well.

India has three kinds of segmented consumer price indices — for agricultural labour, rural labour and for industrial workers. The April numbers for all these indices are yet to come.

The latest data showed consumer prices rose steeper in rural India than in urban parts.

Consumer prices rose eight per cent in April compared to the average price level in 2010, slightly higher than seven per cent in the previous month. On the other hand, prices in urban areas rose five per cent in April against four per cent in March.

The highest consumer price index for April was witnessed at 111 points in Mizoram and the lowest at 102 points in Manipur.