The provisional wholesale inflation captured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) accelerated to a 12-year-high of 14.23% YoY in November on the back of mineral oil, base metals, crude oil and natural gas, as per government data released on Tuesday.   

The WPI inflation has been in double digits for the last 8 months starting April 2021. The wholesale inflation print was 12.54% YoY in the last month and 2.29% in November last year.

“The high rate of inflation in November 2021 is primarily due to rise in prices of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum & natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, food products etc,” said the Ministry of Commerce & Industry statement.

Among all commodities measured by the index, fuel & power costs accelerated the most witnessing a 39.81% spike in the WPI constituent. The basket grew -7.01% in November last year and 37.18% in the previous month in 2021.

Prices in the Manufactured Products basket, which consist of finished food products, Beverages, Tobacco Products, Apparel, Chemicals, Textiles, Pharmaceuticals, Basic Metals, Semi-Finished Steel, increased by 11.92% YoY.

WPI inflation which is a proxy for producers' prices, continues to impact margins of companies reflecting high costs of procurement and manufacturing for the last 8 months.  

The difference between consumer inflation and wholesale inflation has increased in recent months as producers try to absorb the impact of high prices of goods. 

RELATED NEWS Retail inflation rises to 4.91% in November from 4.48% in October on higher fuel prices Sensex ends 503 points lower amid Omicron, inflation concerns, Nifty settles at 17,368.25; RIL drags US inflation surges to near-40 year high, testing Biden November retail inflation measured by the consumer price index (CPI) increased by 4.91% YoY followed by 4.48% hike in October on higher fuel prices, as per data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday. It was below expectations and within the Reserve Bank of India (RBI')s comfort zone of 2-6%. 

According to the RBI's rate-setting panel Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC's) official mandate, the rate-setting panel is supposed to keep inflation in a band of 2-6%, with the medium-term target being 4%.

Get all latest Business News, Market News , Income Tax News, Share Market, Sensex Today live updates on Times Now