India's August wholesale inflation up, riding on high food, fuel prices

New Delhi: High food, fuel and manufactured goods' prices accelerated India's August wholesale inflation, official data showed on Monday.

On sequential level, India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices rose to 0.16 per cent in August from (-) 0.58 per cent in July.

On a year-on-year (YoY) basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had risen to 1.17 per cent during the corresponding period of the previous year.

"The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at (0.16 per cent)(Provisional) for the month of August, 2020 (over August, 2019) as compared to 1.17 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year," the Ministry said in its review of 'Index Numbers of Wholesale Pr ice in India' for August.

In the notes to WPI August, the ministry said: "The WPI for August 2 020, have been compiled at a weighted response rate of 76 per cent, while the final figure for June, 2020 is based on the weighted response rate of 88 per cent."

On a sequential basis, the expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22 .62 per cent of the WPI's total weightage, increased 1.60 per cent from 0.63 per cent in July 2020.

Furthermore, the prices of food items remained at elevated levels with a rise of 4.07 per cent from 4.32 per cent reported for July