TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Higher food prices accelerated India’s annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices, to 2.93 per cent in February from 2.74 per cent for the corresponding month in 2018, official data showed on Thursday. Even on a sequential basis, the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data for February, furnished by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, showed that wholesale prices rose faster as compared to the 2.76 per cent growth reported for January 2019.
“The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 2.93 per cent (provisional) for the month of February 2019 (over February 2018) as compared to 2.76 per cent (provisional) for the previous month, and 2.74 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year,” the Ministry said in its review of “Index Numbers of Wholesale Price in India” for February.
“Build-up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 2.75 per cent compared to a build-up rate of 2.56 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year.” On a year-on-year basis, the expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22.62 per cent of the WPI’s total weightage, rose to 4.84 per cent from 0.79 per cent. The prices of food products increased at a faster rate.
