India’s wholesale inflation dropped to -0.92% in April for the first time since July 2020, data released by Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday showed. The wholesale inflation, which is measured by Wholesale Price Index, was at 1.34% in March and 3.85% in February.

The wholesale inflation has declined for the eleventh consecutive month after it jumped to a 20-year high of 16.63% in May last year.

The ministry said that last month’s negative decline in wholesale inflation is primarily due to fall in prices of basic metals, food products, mineral oils, textiles, non-food articles, chemical and chemical products, rubber and plastic products and paper and paper products.

The inflation in food articles eased to 3.54% in April from 5.48% in March, while fuel and power index declined to 0.93% from 8.96% in March. The highest decline in the fuel and power index was shown in liquified petroleum gas that dropped to -10.49%.

The inflation rate for manufactured products dropped to -2.42% in April as compared to 0.77% in March, the data released by the Centre showed.

India’s retail inflation in April had also dropped to 4.70% from 5.66% in March, data released on May 12 showed. The price rise indicator dropped to its lowest since October 2021, when it stood at 4.48%. In April 2022, it was 7.79%.

The ease in the retail inflation came after the Reserve Bank of India on April 6 decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.50%. The repo rate is the interest rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks.