WPI inflation in May cools to 5-month low of 2.17%; vegetable prices down 18.51%

New Delhi: Inflation based on the wholesale price index fell to a five-month low of 2.17 percent in May, mainly because of a sharp drop in prices of vegetables. In December, the reading was 2.10 percent. WPI inflation was 3.85 percent in April and (-)0.9 percent in May 2016. Pulses and cereals saw a slower growth in prices. The wholesale price index (WPI) for the month is based on the new base year 2011-12, which was revised last month from 2004-05, with an aim to reflect the macroeconomic picture more accurately. [caption id=“attachment_2783234” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representative image[/caption] The slowdown in wholesale inflation comes against the backdrop of retail inflation easing to a multi-year low of 2.18 percent in May. Government data showed that prices of food articles shrank by 2.27 percent in May on an yearly basis. The inflation print for vegetables read (-)18.51 percent. While potato saw a deflation of 44.36 percent, for onion, it came in at 12.86 percent. The rate of price increase was 4.15 percent in cereals, down from 6.67 percent in May last year. Protein-rich pulses turned cheaper in May as prices fell by 19.73 percent. Eggs, meat and fish saw a price decline of 1.02 percent annually. The index basket of the new series has a total of 697 items, including 117 for primary articles, 16 for fuel and power and 564 for manufactured products. There was acceleration in prices of fuel and power (11.69 percent) and manufactured products (2.55 percent). However, the price rise in sugar, which falls under the category of manufactured items, slowed to 12.83 percent in May, from 23.12 percent a year earlier.