Wholesale Price Inflation Hits 1.84% in September Amid Rising Vegetable Costs

Wholesale price inflation surged to 1.84 percent in September, driven by rising costs of food items, particularly vegetables, according to government data released on Monday. In comparison, the inflation rate based on the wholesale price index (WPI) was 1.31 percent in August and recorded a negative 0.07 percent in September of the previous year.

Food item inflation surged to 11.53 percent last month, up from 3.11 percent in August, primarily driven by a dramatic 48.73 percent increase in vegetable prices, compared to a decline of 10.01 percent in the previous month. Notably, the inflation rates for potatoes and onions remained elevated, reaching 78.13 percent and 78.82 percent, respectively, in September.

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The fuel and power category experienced a deflation of 4.05 percent in September, compared to a deflation of 0.67 percent in August. "Positive rate of inflation in September 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers & semi-trailers, manufacture of machinery & equipment, etc," the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement.

In its monetary policy review earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) maintained the benchmark interest rate, or repo rate, at 6.5 percent, primarily considering retail inflation in its decision-making. Retail inflation figures are set to be released later today.