India Wholesale Prices Rise 0.73%, Less Than Forecast

(RTTNews) - India's wholesale prices increased for the second straight month in December, though at a slower-than-expected pace, data published by the National Statistical Office showed on Monday.

The wholesale price index, or WPI, rose 0.73 percent year-over-year in December, following a 0.26 percent gain in November. Economists had expected a 0.90 percent increase for the month.

The upward trend was primarily due to the increase in prices of food articles, machinery and equipment, other manufacturing, other transport equipment, and computer, electronics, and optical products, the ministry said.

Food prices grew at a faster rate of 5.39 percent annually in December versus a 4.69 percent gain a month ago. Similarly, costs for primary articles climbed at an accelerated pace of 5.78 percent.

On the other hand, fuel and power charges declined at a slower rate of 2.41 percent, and those for manufactured products slid by 0.71 percent.

Data released last week showed that India's consumer price inflation rose to a 4-month high of 5.69 percent in December from 5.55 percent in the prior month.

However, inflation remained within the central bank's tolerance band of 2-6 percent.