India Wholesale Price Inflation Eases To 13-Month Low

(RTTNews) - India's wholesale price inflation eased further in April to the lowest level in just over a year amid cheaper costs for primary articles, especially food items, provisional data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry revealed on Wednesday.

The wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 0.85 percent year-over-year in April, slower than the 2.07 percent increase in March. Economists had expected inflation to ease to 1.76 percent.

Food inflation moderated to 2.55 percent from 4.66 percent in March. Prices for primary articles declined 1.44 percent annually in April, and costs for fuel and power also showed a renewed decline of 2.18 percent.

Price increases softened in manufactured products too, from 3.07 percent to 2.62 percent.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices dropped 0.19 percent from March, when they decreased by 0.26 percent.

Data released on Tuesday showed that India's consumer price inflation eased further in April to the lowest level in nearly six years amid a slower rise in food prices. The latest results will force policymakers to slash interest rates in the upcoming meetings.