WPI-based inflation fell to 8-month low in December falling to 3.80 per cent from 4.64 per cent in November amid decline in fuel and food items, government data released Monday showed. Even as potato prices rose with inflation at 48.68 per cent in December, it is still lower when compared with 86.45 per cent in November. Onion prices saw deflation of 63.83 per cent in December as against 47.60 per cent in previous month.
The December WPI inflation is the lowest in 8 months. A number lower than this was last seen in April at 3.62 per cent. In November last year, WPI inflation stood at 4.64 per cent versus 3.58 per cent in December 2017. Inflation in pulses was recorded at 2.11 per cent, while in ‘egg, meat and fish’ it was 4.55 per cent.
Wholesale food inflation surged to 0.07 percent as against a -1.96 percent in November 2018. The inflation in non-food articles was recorded at 4.45 percent in December 2018 versus 6.40 percent in the last month.
The wholesale inflation data for October 2018 was revised by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to 5.54 percent from 5.28 percent. Consumer price index (CPI) inflation data would be released by the government later in the day.
In the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data released last well showed how factory production stood at 0.5 per cent in November, the slowest growth rate posted since June 2017.
