Inflation data to be released monthly not weekly

THAT TIME OF THE MONTH: These figures will now haunt you monthly and not weekly.

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New Delhi: India plans to release wholesale price (WPI) inflation data on a monthly basis from end-October or mid-November, and says the new reading will include a larger number of items and better reflect prices.

A senior official at the Commerce and Industry Ministry involved in developing the new data series said on Tuesday that the current weekly WPI would be discontinued.

"The (new) series is going towards finalisation. When we switch over to monthly data, there will be no need for the weekly data," he told Reuters.

The new index would be based on 2004-05 prices instead of the current one based on 1993-94.

The number of commodities tracked will also go up to 1,224 items from the current 435.

The official said the government would also release weekly price data for primary articles, which includes food, non-food products and minerals, after it switches over to a monthly reading.

Indian inflation jumped to a 13-year high in June after a 10 per cent increase in local fuel prices and in mid-August was ruling just below an annual 12.5 per cent.

The widely watched wholesale price index rose 12.40 per cent in the 12 months to Aug. 16, below the previous week's annual rise of 12.63 per cent.

But there has been criticism that the data underestimates price pressures in Asia's third-largest economy.

Policy makers say monthly WPI data in tandem with weekly numbers for primary articles would help the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) better calibrate its monetary policy decisions.

The sharp increase in the inflation rate in the past few months has forced the government and the RBI to raise rates, tighten liquidity and cut taxes to rein in soaring prices to avoid voter anger during state and federal polls.

India is also hoping to bring out a new urban consumer price index (CPI) in April or May next year to give a more accurate and harmonised picture of prices in towns and cities.