Higher onion, vegetable prices drive WPI inflation to 8-month high of 3.93%

The inflation, based on monthly WPI (Wholesale Price Index), rose to eight-month high of 3.93 per cent for the month of November on the back of rise in food and fuel prices. WPI Inflation stood at 3.59 per cent during the previous month and 1.82 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year.

This comes two days after CPI inflation jumped to a 15-month high of 4.88 per cent, breaching the RBI estimate. In its bi-monthly monetary policy statement released in October, the Reserve Bank of India had projected inflation to stay in the range of 4.2 per cent to 4.6 per cent in the second half of the current year.

Onion, a kitchen staple, witnessed a whopping 178.19 per cent rise in inflation last month on annual basis.

For seasonal vegetables too the rate of price rise accelerated to 59.80 per cent, as against 36.61 per cent in October.

Protein rich eggs, meat and fish as a category, however, grew at a slower pace of 4.73 per cent during the month, against 5.76 in preceding month.

WPI inflation of food articles increased to 6.06 per cent last month, as against 4.30 per cent in October, as per the data released by the Commerce Ministry.

For manufactured goods, it was at 2.61 per cent during the month, almost static against 2.62 in preceding month.

Wholesale food prices in November rose 4.10 percent year-on-year, compared with a 3.23 percent rise a month earlier, the data showed.