WPI inflation marginally up at (-)4.54% in September

New Delhi: WPI inflation rate edged up marginally to (-)4.54 percent in September with pulses, vegetables and onion turning costlier even as the overall deflationary trend persisted for 11th month in a row.

The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation was (-)4.95 percent in August. It has been in the negative zone since November. In September last year, inflation was 2.38 percent.

Inflation in food articles inched up to 0.69 percent in September, from (-)1.13 percent in August.

Onion and pulses turned costlier with inflation at 113.70 per cent and 38.56 percent respectively during September, as per official data released today.

The rate of price rise in vegetables was at (-)9.45 percent as against (-)21.21 percent in August.

Inflation rate in fuel and power segment was (-)17.71 percent, while that in manufactured products was (-)1.73 percent in September.

Besides pulses and onion, the food items which became dearer in September were eggs, meat and fish (2.02 percent), milk (2.16 percent) and wheat (3.34 percent).

However, potato inflation was low at (-)57.34 percent.

The inflation data for July has been revised to (-)4.0 percent, as compared to provisional estimates of (-)4.05 percent.

The Reserve Bank mostly tracks the Consumer Price Index- based inflation for its monetary policy decisions.

The CPI or retail inflation for September rose to 4.41 percent, from 3.74 percent in the previous month.

The rise in retail inflation as well as the marginal upward movement of wholesale inflation is unlikely to have a bearing on the monetary policy of RBI. The central bank has signalled that it would wait for sometime before cutting interest rates.

Last month, RBI had reduced interest rates by more than expected 0.50 percent and said it expects CPI inflation to reach 5.8 percent in January 2016.