Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation for August 2013 comes in at 9.52% which is a ludicrously high number when you consider that WPI inflation is just 5.79%.
CPI of course has components the WPI does not, like costs of housing, entertainment and other services. That is our life really, and the real cost of living, rather than just potatoes or onions.
Component wise, things remain horrible on the food front at 11% inflation.
Housing remains sticky at 10%+, and Transport costs are now up 8%.
The Rural-Urban divide continues; While rural inflation fell below 9%, urban inflation remained steady around 11.5%.
A good monsoon should help rural inflation even more. But nothing seems to be able to bring down urban inflation, and with the dollar at 60+, that will only go up.
We are likely to ignore these numbers, as WPI inflation will come on Monday. CPI is hardly used in India, but it should be, and that’s why I continue to type in these numbers every month. Hope you like them!
