WPI inflation rises to 3.1 pc in January

Wholesale price-based inflation rose to 3.1 percent in January, as against 2.59 percent in the previous month due to the increase in prices of food articles like onion and potato. The annual inflation, based on the monthly wholesale price index (WPI), was at 2.76 percent during the same month a year ago (January 2019).

The rate of price rise stood at 11.51 percent during January as against 2.41 percent a month earlier, while for non-food articles it rose nearly three-fold to 7.8 percent from 2.32 percent in December, the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday showed. Among food articles, vegetable prices surged by 52.72 percent mainly on account of onion, which witnessed 293 percent jump in prices, followed by potato at 37.34 percent.

Earlier this week, retail inflation based on consumer price index (CPI), rose to a near six-year high of 7.59 percent in January, surpassing the Reserve Bank of India's comfort range primarily on account of rising vegetable and food prices. This is the highest rate of inflation since May 2014, when it was 8.33 percent.

Last week, the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in its bi-monthly monetary policy review had kept its key interest rates unchanged 5.15 percent while maintaining an accommodative stance.