India’s Wholesale Inflation Continues To Cool Off 

India's wholesale inflation rose slower than anticipated in January on easing food prices.

Inflation measured by the Wholesale Price Index stood at 2.84 percent on a yearly basis in January compared with 3.58 percent in December, according to a statement by Ministry of Commerce and Industry. That's lower than the 3.2 percent median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg.

Wholesale food prices fell 2.4 percent in January led by a 10 percent decline in the prices of gram, fruits and vegetables. The index for manufactured food also declined by 0.5 percent.

That follows a slight moderation in the consumer price inflation to 5.07 percent last month from 5.2 percent in December as vegetable prices fell after a seasonal spike. The data is in line with the Monetary Policy Committee’s predictions. Higher vegetable prices, particularly the seasonal surge in onions and tomatoes, kept India’s inflation on the rise since July, after hitting an all-time low. A fresh supply of tomatoes from December-end and onions by March is expected to pull prices lower, the Reserve Bank of India said in its outlook earlier this month.

Key Highlights

• Prices of primary articles declined by 1.5 percent.
• Food articles were cheaper by 2.4 percent.
• Prices of fuel and power rose by 0.4 percent.
• Prices for manufactured products rose 0.6 percent.

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