India Wholesale Price Inflation Eases To 0.13% In September

(RTTNews) - India's wholesale price inflation moderated more-than-expected in September from a 4-month high in August, provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed on Tuesday.

The wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 0.13 percent year-over-year in September, slower than the 0.52 percent rise in August. The expected rise was 0.50 percent.

Food prices logged a decline of 1.99 percent annually in September, while the price decline in primary articles deepened to 3.32 percent from 2.10 percent in August, and costs for fuel and power also showed a slower decrease of 2.58 percent versus 3.17 percent a month ago.

Data showed that the annual price growth of manufactured products eased to 2.33 from 2.55 percent.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices dropped 0.19 percent from August, when they increased by 0.52 percent. Moreover, this was the first decrease in four months.

Data released on Monday showed that India's consumer price inflation slowed to more than an 8-year low of 1.54 percent in September from 2.07 percent in August. The Reserve Bank of India aims to keep inflation in a 2-6 percent tolerance band. During its last meeting earlier this month, the RBI decided to hold rates at 5.5 percent.