Inflation based on Wholesale Price Index for the month of November, or wholesale inflation as it is more commonly known, hit a nine-month high of 1.55%, government data showed on Monday. Wholesale inflation for October was at 1.48%, while the numbers for a year-ago period (November 2019), stood at 0.58%.

This is now the fourth straight month, where the wholesale inflation has gone upwards.

The uptick came on the back of a sharp spike in non-food articles, which rose from 2.85% in October, to 8.43% in November. However, wholesale prices for two other crucial commodities, food articles (6.37% in October to 3.94% in November) and crude petroleum and natural gas (-13.04% in October to -25.70% in November), witnessed significant dips.

Meanwhile, experts have said that retail inflation for November is expected to ease on a month-on-month basis, but will stay above 7%. Retail inflation is the more important of the two indicators of price rise in the country, in terms of policy decisions.

Till October, retail inflation has stayed above the Reserve Bank of India’s mandated range of 2%-6% for seven consecutive months, a streak not seen since August 2014. India’s retail inflation rose to 7.61% in October, from 7.27% in September.