Rise is mainly due to costlier food items, particularly onion. PIC/ AFP Janu2019s WPI inflation is at 10- month high New Delhi: Wholesale prices- based inflation accelerated to a 10- month high of 3.1 per cent in January mainly due to costlier food articles, particularly onion and potato, official data showed on Friday.
The wholesale price index ( WPI) based inflation was at 2.59 per cent in December 2019 and 2.76 per cent in January 2019, stated data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The earlier high at 3.18 per cent was recorded in April 2019.
Meanwhile, ICRA Principal Economist Aditi Nayar said the WPI inflation could go up further in the coming months mainly because of higher import duties.
u201c Higher customs duties would push up the inflation related to imports to some extent going forward. However, the impact of the spread of the coronavirus on risk sentiment and commodity prices, including crude oil, is expected to exert a substantial moderation on the wholesale inflation in February 2020,u201d she said. Agencies 3.1 % Wholesale prices- based inflation
