Wholesale inflation hits two-month high in Dec

It was driven by increase in prices of primary articles and manufactured goods

- Rhik Kundu

NEW DELHI: India's wholesale price index-based inflation climbed to a two-month high of 2.37% year-on-year in December, according to the provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday.

The rise in WPI-based inflation in December wasn't a surprise to experts. It was driven by a sharper increase in the prices of primary articles and manufactured goods than in the previous month.

A Reuters poll of economists had expected wholesale inflation to rise by around 2.3% year-on-year in December, up from 1.89% in November.

The WPI, a proxy for producers' prices, had risen by 0.86% year-on-year in December 2023.

Food prices, a major contributor to the index, rose by 8.89% year-on-year in December, compared to an 8.92% rise in the previous month.