Wholesale price inflation rose to 1.84 per cent in September, driven by a sharp increase in food prices, particularly vegetables, according to government data released on Monday.
In August, the wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation was 1.31 per cent, while it stood at (-)0.07 per cent in September 2023.
Inflation in food items surged to 11.53 per cent last month, up from 3.11 per cent in August, largely due to a steep 48.73 per cent inflation in vegetables, compared to (-)10.01 per cent in August.
Potato and onion prices also remained significantly high, with inflation at 78.13 per cent and 78.82 per cent, respectively, in September.
The fuel and power category saw a deflation of 4.05 per cent in September, up from a deflation of 0.67 per cent in August.
“The positive inflation rate in September 2024 is primarily due to higher prices of food articles, food products, manufacturing, motor vehicles, machinery, and equipment,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which bases its monetary policy decisions on retail inflation, kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent in its latest review earlier this month. Retail inflation data will be released later today.
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