Wholesale inflation rises to 2.37% in December on higher food, textile prices

India’s wholesale price inflation rose to 2.37% in December 2024, up from 1.89% in November, driven by an uptick in prices of food articles, textiles, and other manufactured products, government data showed on Tuesday.

While food and textile prices led the annual increase, month-on-month, the overall WPI declined by 0.38% compared to November.

The index for primary articles category, which has a weight of 22.62%, fell 2.07% month-on-month due to a 3.08% drop in food article prices and a 2.87% decline in crude petroleum and natural gas. Non-food articles rose by 2.53%, while mineral prices edged up 0.48%.

Fuel and power segment, with a weight of 13.15%, recorded a 1.90% increase in December, driven by an 8.81% rise in electricity prices and marginal gains in coal. Mineral oil prices dipped by 0.06%.

Manufactured products, which make up 64.23% of the index, remained unchanged month-on-month at 143.0.

The WPI Food Index, which includes food articles and manufactured food products, fell to 195.9 in December from 200.3 in November. Annual food inflation eased slightly to 8.89% from 8.92% in the previous month.

Retail inflation in December

The retail inflation rate has been gradually decreasing since peaking in October 2024, the highest in more than a year since September 2023.

Last month, the Reserve Bank of India raised the inflation projection for the current fiscal year to 4.8% from 4.5%. It also said the lingering food price pressures are likely to keep headline inflation elevated in the December quarter.