India’s wholesale inflation rate declined to 4.95% in December from 5.85% in November, government data released on Monday showed. This is the lowest that the price rise indicator has been since February 2021 when it was reported at 4.83%, according to PTI.
This is also the third consecutive month when the indicator of price rise in wholesale markets has remained under double digits since March 2021.
“Decline in the rate of inflation in December is primarily contributed by fall in prices of food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, food products, textiles and chemicals and chemical products,” the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a press release.
According to the data, the wholesale inflation rate in food items declined to 0.65% in December from 2.17% in November. The price rise in vegetables declined substantially to -35.9% in December from -20.08 in November.
The fuel and power inflation rate, however, increased from 17.35% in November to 18.09% in December, while for manufactured products it dipped to 3.37% from 3.59%.
Last week, India’s retail inflation came down marginally to 5.72% in December from 5.88% in November. This is the lowest level that the price rise indicator has been in a year.
For the second consecutive month now, retail inflation has stayed under the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance level. The central bank aims to keep inflation between 2% and 6%. In November, inflation had settled within the RBI’s tolerance level for the first time in 2022.
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