Headline inflation rises to 9.44% in June

Headline inflation rose to 9.44% in June on the back of rising prices of fuel and manufactured products, which may prompt the Reserve Bank to raise key rates again in its quarterly policy review later this month.

Inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 9.06% in May. It was 10.25% in June, 2010.

Meanwhile, as per data released by the government today, the overall inflation figure for April this year has been revised upward to 9.74% from the provisional estimate of 8.66%.

The rise in inflation can partly be attributed to the hike in prices of diesel, cooking gas and kerosene announced by the government on May 24.

The higher prices of petroleum goods, according to experts, is adding to supply side constraints.

The index for the fuel and power segment, which has a weight of almost 15% in the WPI basket, stood at 12.85% year-on-year in June. This was up from 12.32% in the previous month.

LPG became 12.17% more expensive on an annual basis, while high speed diesel was up 6.58%. Petrol, whose prices were hiked in April, also became dearer by 30.61%.

Prices of manufactured products, which have a weight of around 65% in the WPI basket, went up by 7.43% year-on-year in June.

Inflation in manufactured products has been steadily rising since February this year, when it crossed the 6% mark. It was 7.27% in May.