India experienced a further uptick in wholesale price inflation in October, reaching its highest level in four months due to increased costs in food and primary goods, as reported by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.
The wholesale price index (WPI) expanded by 2.36 percent year-on-year for October, exceeding the 1.84 percent rise seen in September. This increase was higher than the 2.20 percent forecasted by economists.
Prices for primary commodities surged at a quicker rate of 8.1 percent compared to a 6.6 percent growth in the previous month. In a similar trend, the annual increase in the food price index accelerated to 11.59 percent from the previous month’s 9.47 percent.
The data also indicated a slightly faster rise in the prices of manufactured goods, advancing by 1.5 percent compared to a 1.0 percent rise in the preceding month. Conversely, prices for fuel and power continued to see a sharp decline, falling by 5.79 percent.
Month-on-month, wholesale prices rose by 0.97 percent from September, following a 0.52 percent increase.
Earlier data this week showed that India's consumer price inflation hit a 14-month high of 6.21 percent in October, climbing from 5.49 percent in September, driven by increasing food expenses. Consequently, consumer price inflation has now surpassed the Reserve Bank’s target range of 2-6 percent.
