India's wholesale deflation eased in October as price of pulses and onions rose and base effects waned, government data showed on Monday.
Wholesale prices, which have been falling for a year now, slid 3.81 per cent during the month, slower than the 4.54 per cent drop in September.
The trend for wholesale inflation is similar to retail inflation. Data released on Friday showed consumer price inflation quickened to a four-month high of 5 per cent in September, driven mainly by costlier pulses.
The wholesale price index (WPI) captures price movements in three broad categories—primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products.
While prices across the three categories tumbled for a sixth straight month, the pace of decline slowed in October.
Prices of manufactured products, which account for two-thirds of the index, fell 1.67 per cent in October compared with a 1.73 per cent drop in September. Prices of primary articles decreased 0.36 per cent in October while food prices rose 2.44 per cent.
Within primary articles, prices of pulses surged 52 per cent and onion prices soared 85 per cent, the data showed.
While wholesale inflation has remained in the negative territory for a year, most of the decrease has come from the fall in fuel prices.
