Wholesale inflation dips to 20-month low of -0.13% in June

Wholesale inflation dips further

India’s wholesale inflation dipped to a 20-month low of -0.13 percent in June after falling to a 14-month low of 0.4 percent in the previous month, data released on July 14 show.

This is the third straight month that the reading has remained below 1 percent.

Wholesale food inflation, which fell to a 19-month low of 1.72 percent, dipped further to a two-year low of -0.26 percent.

Manufactured goods, which account for more than two-thirds of the index, recorded 1.97 percent inflation, down from 2.04 percent in May.

India’s inflation has remained subdued since the start of the year, giving the central bank room for more rate cuts.

The Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee in June slashed the repo rate by 50 basis points to 5.5 percent.

The RBI has delivered three successive rate cuts, totalling to 100 bps, since the start of the year in its February, April and June policy meetings, with consumer inflation remaining subdued in the first quarter.