Rising Prices Of Manufactured Goods And Fuel Lead Wholesale Inflation     

Prices of manufactured products, which comprise nearly 65 per cent of the index, continued to rise for the ninth straight month.

India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices rose marginally to 3.39 per cent in December 2016 from 3.15 per cent in November due to hardening of manufactured products and fuel prices, official data showed on Monday (16 January).

According to data on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the annual inflation rate was (-)1.06 per cent in December.

Segment-wise, the WPI food articles segment declined by 0.70 per cent during the month under review from 1.54 per cent in November. The expenses on primary articles, which constitute 20.12 per cent of the WPI's total weight, rose by 0.27 per cent during December.

Prices of manufactured products, which comprise nearly 65 per cent of the index, continued to rise for the ninth straight month, going up by 3.67 per cent last month. The prices in this category had risen by 3.20 per cent in November. The sub-category of manufactured food products, which includes sugar and edible oils, registered a rise of 10.75 per cent.

Similarly, fuel and power price inflation accelerated in December. It edged up by 8.65 per cent, as compared to a rise of 7.07 in November and 6.24 per cent in October.

Segment-wise, price of high-speed diesel rose by 20.25 per cent last month while that for gasoline or petrol climbed by 8.52 per cent and for LPG by 2.09 per cent.