Wholesale Price Inflation in November rises to eight-month high of 3.93 percent

India’s annual wholesale price inflation for the month of November rose to an eight-month high, driven by significant price rise in food and fuel products, government data showed on Thursday.

Annual wholesale price inflation for Nov increased to 3.93 percent from a year earlier, from a provisional 3.59 percent rise in October.
The rise compares with a 3.78 percent increase forecast by economists in a Reuters poll.

Wholesale food prices in November rose 4.10 percent year-on-year, compared with a 3.23 percent rise a month earlier, the data showed.

The index for ‘Food Articles’ group rose by 1.8% to 150.6 (provisional) from 148 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of betel leaves (12%), egg (11%), fruits & vegetables (7%) and fish-marine, beef & buffalo meat, pork, condiments & spices and wheat (1% each). However, the price of ragi and gram (7% each), maize and jowar (4% each), urad and rajma (3% each), arhar, peas/chawali, masur, bajra and moong (2% each) and poultry chicken and barley (1% each) declined.

The index for ‘Minerals’ group rose by 7% to 129.3 (provisional) from 120.8 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of iron ore (14%), copper concentrate (12%), lead concentrate (4%), zinc concentrate (3%), manganese ore (2%) and phosphorite (1%). However, the price of sillimanite (12%) and bauxite (3%) declined.

The index for ‘Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas’ group rose by 6.7% to 74.5 (provisional) from 69.8 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of crude petroleum (10%).