WPI-based inflation surges to record high Of 15.88% in May

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation surged to a record high of 15.88 per cent in the month of May, government data showed.

The index has recorded its highest figure since its base year i.e 2011-12. The data on WPI is released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

For the unversed, WPI indicates the inflation of the goods from the point of view of wholesale buyers. If the WPI is high, it is most likely to snowball into a higher CPI or Retail Inflation.

In May, WPI was recorded at 15.08 per cent and in April, the figure stood at 13.11 per cent. In the data released by the Ministry of Statistics, CPI-based inflation fell to 7.04 per cent in May as compared to 7.79 per cent in April.

It was still uncomfortably higher than RBI's upper tolerance level of 6 per cent.

The inflation figures have now stayed 5 months outside the upper limit.

With the latest figures, WPI inflation has stayed in the double-digits for 14 consecutive months.

The number is the highest in at least nine years, since the launch of new series in 2013. The base year is now 2011-12.

According to Moneycontrol, the economists had compared the WPI data last month with the older series and found that it was the highest in 30 years.

This way, the current figures are the highest in at least 30 years.