Delhi, 14 November (H.S.): Offering significant relief on the price front, India's wholesale inflation rate entered negative territory in October, contracting to -1.21%, government data released on Friday showed. This marks a sharp downturn from the 1.44% inflation recorded in September and provides further positive news following a recent decline in retail inflation.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry attributed the deflationary trend primarily to a fall in the prices of food items, crude petroleum and natural gas, electricity, mineral oils, and basic metals. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation stood at 2.75% in October of the previous year, highlighting a substantial moderation in price pressures over the last 12 months.

Diving into the data, food articles experienced a deflation of 8.31% in October, a steeper decline compared to the 5.22% deflation seen in September. This was led by a significant drop in the cost of vegetables, which saw prices contract by 34.97%. The prices of essential items also fell sharply, with deflation in pulses recorded at 16.50%, while potatoes and onions saw prices plummet by 39.88% and 65.43%, respectively.

Meanwhile, inflation in manufactured products softened to 1.54% in October from 2.33% in the preceding month. The fuel and power segment remained in a deflationary state, registering a negative inflation rate of 2.55% in October, nearly consistent with the -2.58% recorded in September.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar