India Wholesale Price Inflation Slows To 2.31%

(RTTNews) - India's wholesale price inflation eased slightly in January from a six-month high in the previous month, provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed on Friday.

The wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 2.31 percent year-over-year in January, following a 2.37 percent increase in December. Meanwhile, economists had expected inflation to rise to 2.50 percent.

Prices for primary articles grew at a slower pace of 4.69 percent in January versus a 6.02 percent gain in the prior month. Similarly, the yearly price growth in the food items softened to 7.47 percent from 8.89 percent.

Data showed that prices for fuel and power declined at a slower pace of 2.78 percent versus a 3.79 percent fall a month ago, while price increases accelerated in manufactured products, from 2.14 percent to 2.51 percent.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices dropped 0.45 percent from November, when they decreased by 0.64 percent.

Data released earlier this week showed that India's consumer price inflation softened to a 5-month low of 4.31 percent in January from 5.22 percent in December, reinforcing expectations that the Reserve Bank of India will reduce interest rates further.