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WPI inflation eases to 10.66% in September on lower food prices
The key gauge of producer prices in September, however, remained in double-digits. In August, wholesale inflation was 11.39%
India’s headline wholesale price inflation for September rose 10.66% from a year ago, a six-month low, signalling cooling prices, government data showed on Thursday.
The key gauge of producer prices in September, however, remained in double-digits. In August, wholesale inflation was 11.39%. The easing of wholesale prices was led by a decline in prices of food articles, especially vegetables.
Fuel and power category prices rose slightly at a slower pace to stand at 24.81% in September from a year ago, compared with a 26.09% rise in August. Prices of manufactured goods, the biggest component in the WPI basket, rose 11.41%, marginally lower than August’s 11.39%.
Price rise is a key determinant of monetary policies. Moderate inflation helps the Reserve Bank to keep interest rates low to spur economic activity hit by the pandemic.
The slide in prices was largely driven by declining food prices at the wholesale level, which can pressure farm incomes.
Inflation, or the rate at which prices rise, of food articles, dropped by nearly 5%, Thursday’s data showed. Vegetable inflation fell by 32.5%. Within horticulture items, wholesale onion rates saw a 1.9% decline in September, after a sharp rise of 62.8% in August from a year ago.
Data released on October 12 showed retail inflation eased in September. The Retail inflation rate, as measured by the widely watched consumer price index, stood at 4.35% in September 2021. In August consumer prices rose 5.3%.
