India's wholesale price inflation at 6.55% in February

New Delhi : India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices rose to 6.55 per cent in February 2017 from 5.25 per cent in the previous month, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the annual inflation rate was (-)0.85 per cent in February 2016.

The wholesale inflation for food articles rose by 2.69 per cent during the month under review from (-)0.56 per cent in January.

However, expenses on primary articles, which constitute 20.12 per cent of the WPI's total weight, rose by 5 per cent during February.

The wholesale inflation rate for onion was lower by (-)18.85 per cent and that for potatoes stood at (-)8.84 per cent. Overall, vegetable prices came down by (-)8.05 per cent.

The inflation rate for pulses stood at (-)0.79 per cent, while wheat became expensive by 8.36 per cent and protein-based food items such as eggs, meat and fish became dearer by 3.79 per cent.

Prices of manufactured products, which comprise nearly 65 per cent of the index, continued to rise by 3.66 per cent.

The prices in this category had risen by 3.99 per cent in January.

The sub-category of manufactured food products registered a rise of 9.27 per cent.

This was mainly caused by a spurt in sugar prices, which rose by 21.22 per cent as a result of production shortages. Edible oils rose by 5.70 per cent.

Similarly, fuel and power price inflation accelerated in February. It edged up by 21.02 per cent, as compared to a rise of 18.14 per cent reported during January.

Segment-wise, the price of high-speed diesel rose by 33.14 per cent last month, while that for gasoline or petrol climbed by 16.72 per cent and for LPG by 4.32 per cent.