New Delhi, Jan 14 (FN Bureau) India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rose to 2.37% year-on-year in December 2024 from 1.89% in the previous month. as per official data released on Tuesday. “Positive rate of inflation in December, 2024 is primarily due to increase in prices of food articles, manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, manufacture of textiles and non-food articles etc,” Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a press release.
The rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index stood at 8.89% in the month of December 2024 as compared to 8.92% in the previous month. The WPI captures the average movement of wholesale prices of goods and is primarily used as a GDP deflator. It reckons only basic prices and does not include taxes, rebate/trade discounts, transport and other charges. Unlike consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation which is based on prices paid by consumers for buying goods and services, WPI inflation tracks prices of goods at wholesale or bulk level. India’s CPI inflation eased to a four-month low of 5.22% in December 2024 from 5.48% in the previous month primarily on account of cooling down in food prices.