WPI inflation rises to 2.59 % in Dec from 0.58% in Nov

New Delhi: The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly Wholesale Price Index, stood at 2.59 per cent for December 2019 over the same month last year as compared to 0.58 per cent for the previous month,  according to data released by the Commerce and Industry Ministry on Tuesday.

The WPI inflation had stood at 3.46 per cent in December 2018. The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index consisting of 'Food Articles' from Primary Articles group and 'Food Product' from Manufactured Products group increased  to 11.05 per cent in December 2019 from 9.02 per cent in November.

Onions, which saw prices peak in December, saw an inflation rate of 455.8 per cent against 172.3 per cent in November. Overall vegetables inflation jumped  to 69.69 per cent in December from 45.32 per cent in November.

Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.42 per cent compared to a build up rate of 2.92 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.The index for Primary articles, which has weightage of 22.62 per cent,  rose by 1 per cent.The index for 'Food Articles' group rose by 0.1 per cent due to higher price of betel leaves and urad.

The index for ' Non-Food Articles' group rose by 5.5 per cent due to higher price of floriculture.

The index for 'Minerals' group declined by 0.8 per cent while for 'Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas' group, it rose by 3.5 per cent due to higher price of crude petroleum.

Index for Fuel and Power remained unchanged. The index for 'Coal' group rose by 1.4 per cent due to higher price of coking coal while for 'Mineral Oils' group, it declined by 0.4 per cent.

The index for 'Manufacture of Food Products' group rose by 1.0 per cent  due to higher price of palm oil, rice bran oil and groundnut oil , cotton seed oil and mustard oil.