Wholesale price inflation rises to a 4-month high of 2.36 pc as food prices spike
Inflation for food articles rose to 13.54 percent in October, up from 11.53 percent in the previous month, primarily due to a 63.04 percent surge in vegetable prices, compared to 48.73 percent in September. Potato and onion prices remained high, with inflation at 78.73 percent and 39.25 percent, respectively.
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India’s Wholesale price inflation surged to a four-month high of 2.36 percent in October, driven by a sharp rise in food prices, particularly vegetables, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry on Thursday. The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation was 1.84 percent in September 2024, and (-) 0.26 percent in October of last year.
Inflation for food articles rose to 13.54 percent in October, up from 11.53 percent in the previous month, primarily due to a 63.04 percent surge in vegetable prices, compared to 48.73 percent in September. Potato and onion prices remained high, with inflation at 78.73 percent and 39.25 percent, respectively.
While fuel and power prices continued to show deflation at -5.79 percent, manufactured goods saw inflation at 1.50 percent, up from 1 percent in September. The Ministry of Commerce & Industry attributed the overall rise in inflation to increased costs in food articles, manufacturing, and the production of machinery and motor vehicles.
“Inflation in October 2024 is primarily due to an increase in prices of food articles, the manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, the manufacture of machinery & equipment, and the manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers,” the release said.
This rise in wholesale inflation coincides with a 14-month high retail inflation of 6.21 percent, which could complicate the Reserve Bank of India's monetary policy decisions. The central bank, which considers retail inflation in its policy, has kept interest rates unchanged at 6.5 percent in its last review.
The month-over-month change in WPI for October was 0.97 percent, with primary articles seeing an inflation increase to 8.09 percent from 6.59 percent in September. Among food items, pulses saw a 9.74 percent inflation rate, while wheat prices rose by 8.04 percent. Despite the rise in food prices, inflation in categories such as eggs, meat, and fish remained negative at -0.52 percent. Non-food articles experienced a slight deflation of -1.71 percent.
The data also indicated that crude petroleum and natural gas posted significant deflation at -12.16 percent
