A sharp rise in food articles inflation drove India’s wholesale inflation to 2.59 per cent in December, data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed.
AgenciesPrimary articles inflation at 11.46 percent in December v/s 7.68 percent in November.
NEW DELHI: India’s wholesale inflation accelerated to 2.59% in December, driven up by food articles especially onion, data released by the commerce and industry ministry showed on Tuesday. Wholesale price inflation was 0.58% in November.
The annual inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), was 3.46% in December 2018.
Inflation in onions accelerated 455.8% last month from 172.3% in November while that in vegetables gained 69.7%. In potato, the rate surged almost 45% compared to an 8.51% decline in November.
In manufactured products, which have a 64.23% weight in the index, the rate was a negative 0.25% from a 0.84% decline in November. In fuel and power, it was a negative 1.46%.
Official data released Monday showed the retail inflation rate rising to its highest in more than five years in December at 7.35% following a spike in food prices, breaching the targeted outer limit and effectively ruling out the possibility of further interest rate cuts by the central bank.
Economists expect a pause in the next monetary policy review, based on the expectation that the retail inflation will harden further. The Reserve Bank of India has cut interest rates by a cumulative 1.35 percentage point this year.
Agencies
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