Wholesale prices rise to 0.73% in December; accelerates to a 9-month high

India's wholesale inflation in December rose to 0.73% touching a 9-month high as against 0.26% in November. The WPI Inflation which was in the negative territory for 7 months from April to October turned positive in November.

"Positive rate of inflation in December 2023 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, machinery & equipment, other manufacturing, other transport equipment and computer, electronics & optical products etc," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement on Monday.

WPI Inflation in December 2023

Food Inflation in December rose to 9.38% from 8.18% in November 2023. Similarly, the inflation of primary articles increased to 5.78% as against 4.76% in November. Meanwhile, the fuel and power sector contracted to -2.41% and the manufacturing sector contracted (-)0.71%. Inflation in vegetables was 26.3%, while in pulses it was 19.6% in December.

Also Read: Retail inflation rises to a 4-month high of 5.69% in December

However, the inflation has remained within the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) tolerance band of 2-6%. In the December policy meeting, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left the inflation aim unchanged at 5.4%. The Reserve Bank in its bi-monthly monetary policy last month held interest rates steady and flagged risks of rising food inflation in November and December.

Retail or consumer price-based inflation (CPI) print for December rose to a 4-month high of 5.69%, as per data released last week.