India's WPI inflation rises to 2.37% in December; retail inflation eases to four-month low
New Delhi: India’s wholesale price index (WPI) inflation climbed to 2.37% in December, up from 1.89% in November, driven by rising prices of manufactured goods and a favourable base effect, according to government data released on Tuesday.
In contrast, WPI inflation was significantly lower at 0.86% in December last year.
Inflation in food items, however, saw a slight dip to 8.47% in December from 8.63% in November.
The deceleration was attributed to lower price increases in cereals (6.82%), paddy (6.93%), wheat (7.63%), and pulses (5.02%), as per data from the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Conversely, the prices of vegetables (28.65%), potatoes (93.2%), fruits (11.16%), milk (2.26%), and meat (5.43%) experienced an upward trend during the month.
The fuel and power category remained in deflation, with prices contracting by 3.79% in December.
In the manufactured products segment, which accounts for 64.2% of the WPI basket, inflation edged up to 2.14% in December from 2% in November.
Retail inflation trends
India’s retail inflation, measured by the consumer price index (CPI), dropped to a four-month low of 5.22% in December from 5.48% in November, primarily due to moderating food inflation.
Last month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained its benchmark interest rate, or repo rate, at 6.5% for the 11th consecutive time, adopting a neutral monetary policy stance. The RBI primarily factors in retail inflation when framing its policy decisions.
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.