Lower food prices ease India's WPI to 4.64% in November

Lower food and fuel prices eased India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices to 4.64 per cent in November from 5.28 per cent in October, official data showed here on Friday.

However, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry was higher than the rise of 4.02 per cent reported for the corresponding period of 2017.

"The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 4.64 per cent (provisional) for the month of November, 2018 (over November, 2017) as compared to 5.28 per cent (provisional) for the previous month and 4.02 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year," the ministry said in its review of "Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India" for November.

"Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 4.73 per cent compared to a build up rate of 2.83 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year."

On a sequential basis, the expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22.62 per cent of the WPI's total weightage eased to 0.88 per cent, from a rise of 1.79 per cent in October.

Similarly, the prices of food articles declined. The category has a weightage of 15.26 per cent in the WPI index. It deflated by (-) 3.31 per cent from a rise of (-) 1.49 per cent.

In addition, the cost of fuel and power segment, which commands a 13.15 per cent weightage, increased at a slower pace of 16.28 per cent from a growth of 18.44 per cent.

The expenses on manufactured products registered a rise of 4.21 per cent from 4.49 per cent.

On a YoY basis, onion prices deflated by (-) 47.60 per cent, whereas potatoes became dearer by 86.45 per cent.

In contrast, the overall vegetable prices in the month under review declined by (-) 26.98 per cent, against a rise of 59.87 per cent in the same month a year ago.

Among the non-food items, the price of high-speed diesel rose by 20.16 per cent on a YoY basis, petrol by 12.06 per cent and LPG by 23.22 per cent.

--IANS

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