WPI inflation rises 0.16% in Aug as manufactured items turn costlier

A modest decline in food inflation in August was driven by cereals, pulses, vegetables and milk costing less

Wholesale inflation increased 0.16 per cent in August, turning positive after four months of deflation due to rising prices of manufactured products. The overall rate of deflation in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) had consistently fallen since June, when it reached a 4.5-year high of 3.37 per cent.

Manufactured products witnessed an inflation of 1.27 per cent--a 15-month high, government data released on Monday showed. "The WPI surprised with a turnaround to a YoY inflation of 0.2% in August 2020 from the disinflation of 0.6% in July 2020, with the sequential hardening driven by core items and commodities, even as food