Wholesale prices up 5.25% year-on-year in January

NEW DELHI: India's wholesale inflation saw a sharp rise in January owing to costlier fuel and power even as food items continued to remain cheaper.

Data released by commerce and industry ministry on Tuesday showed WPI inflation at 5.25% compared with 3.39% in December. Fuel and power inflation rose 18.14% in January from 8.65% in December.

WPI inflation in manufactured products, which has a 64.97% weight in the index, increased to 3.99% from 3.6% in the previous month.

Food inflation, which turned negative for the first time since August 2015 in December, continued its downward trajectory at 0.56% decline in January vis-a-vis a 0.7% decline in December 2016.

Data released by the statistics office on Monday showed retail inflation moderating to 3.17% in January, the lowest since India started putting out consumer inflation numbers in January 2012.

The government also revised the rise in wholesale price inflation for November to 3.38% from 3.15% earlier.