Wholesale inflation at 0.11% in December

Reversing a six month declining trend, inflation moved up marginally to 0.11% in December mainly due to increase in prices of food items.

Inflation measured on wholesale price index (WPI) was at zero in November.

The food inflation in December moved to a five month high of 5.2%, as per the government data released today.

Inflation in pulses, vegetables and fruits was higher in December over the previous month.

On the other hand, the rate of price rise in wheat, milk and protein rich items like egg, meat and fish was slower in the month under review.

The data further showed that the contraction in WPI inflation for petrol was steeper at 11.96 % from 9.96% in November. Similarly the rate of decline in diesel prices during December was higher than in the previous month.

The inflation in the primary articles segment inched up to 2.17 pe cent in December against a decline of 0.98% in November.

The WPI inflation was on the decline since June before it inched up in the month under review.

The primary reason for this increase in inflation is the rising food costs on an year-on-year basis. The wholesale inflation in the month of December 2013 6.4%. 

The index of 'food products' rose by 0.1%, 'wood and wood products' increased by 1.4%. 

Fuel and power, with a weight of 14.91% on the index, declined by 2.4% on the back of falling crude oil prices globally. Price of India's crude oil basket stood at Rs 2700.11 per barrel on January 13, 2015. 

Meanwhile, the government has revised downwards the October WPI inflation to 1.66 per cent as against the earlier estimate of 1.77%.