Low crude prices and the nationwide lockdown led petrol and diesel to get cheaper by nearly 15 per cent in the month of April 2020. The largest contraction in prices have been observed in the category of fuel and power, which became cheaper by 10 per cent in the month, said a statement by the Ministry of Commerce & Trade. Prices of fuel and power shrank by 1.76 per cent in the previous month. Price movements of many other categories could not be established due to the lockdown and limited transactions of products in the wholesale market.
The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index decreased from 5.49 per cent in March to 3.60 per cent in April 2020. These numbers are provisional and will be revised by the government, said Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities.
