Costlier food items spur WPI to 0.58%

The annual inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), was at 4.47% in November 2018.

The wholesale price-based inflation quickened to 0.58% in November 2019 against 0.16% in October. However, year-on-year, slowed compared to 4.47% in November 2018.

A Commerce Ministry statement said the index for food articles rose 1.4% due to higher prices of urad, fish-marine, moong, rajma, jowar, egg, condiments and spices, fruits and vegetables, masur, wheat, arhar and poultry chicken. Prices of maize, tea and ragi declined.

The index for non-food articles rose by 0.6% as a result of higher prices of items such as in floriculture, raw rubber, raw jute and fodder while index for minerals declined by 2.3% due to lower prices of iron ore, manganese ore, limestone and copper concentrate. Similarly, the index for mineral oils declined by 1.5% in November 2019 due to lower prices of furnace oil and ATF even as prices of LPG, naphtha and kerosene moved up.