December wholesale inflation eases to 1.22% from 1.55% in November due to lower food prices
It had hit a nine-month high in November.
Wholesale inflation for the month of December 2020 slowed to 1.22%, as compared to a nine-month high of 1.55% in November, government data showed on Thursday. Wholesale inflation in December 2019 stood at 2.76%, according to the data.
WPI inflation, an indicator of prices in the wholesale market, slowed down in December, mainly on the back of food prices. Inflation in the WPI Food Index decreased to 0.92% in December, from 4.27% in November, the data showed.
Wholesale inflation for another major commodity, crude petroleum and natural gas, firmed up slightly, but was still in the negative zone. This has been the case for almost a year now.
On Tuesday, government data showed that retail inflation for December 2020 also contracted sharply to 4.59%, from 6.93% in November, due to fall in food prices. However, the country’s industrial output contracted by 1.9% in November, compared to a growth of 3.6% in October.