Wholesale Inflation Falls to 2.76% in January

The annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices eased to 2.76 per cent in January from 3.02 per cent reported for the corresponding month of 2018, official data showed.

The official Wholesale Price Index for All Commodities (Base: 2011-12=100) for the month of January 2019 declined by 0.7 per cent to 119.2 (provisional) from 120.1 (provisional) for the previous month, said an official release.

The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 2.76% (provisional) for the month of January 2019 (over January 2018) as compared to 3.80% (provisional) for the previous month and 3.02% during the corresponding month of the previous year, it added.

Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.49% compared to a build up rate of 2.47% in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Retail inflation more than halved in January to 2.05 per cent from 5.07 per cent during the corresponding month of last year, official data had showed on Tuesday.

On a sequential basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data for January, furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, showed that wholesale prices rose on a slower rate than the rise of 3.80 per cent reported for December 2018.

"The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 2.76 per cent (provisional) for January 2019 (over January 2018) as compared to 3.80 per cent (provisional) for the previous month and 3.02 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year," the Ministry said in its review of "Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India" for January.

"Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.49 per cent compared to a build up rate of 2.47 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year."