India's wholesale inflation drops for second consecutive month to 1.31% in August

In comparison, the wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation stood at 2.04 percent in July and was (-) 0.46 percent in August, 2023.

The Ministry of Industry, in a statement, attributed the positive inflation rate in August 2024 to rising prices of food articles, processed food products, textiles, machinery, and equipment.

Food inflation eased slightly to 3.11 percent in August, down from 3.45 percent in July, with vegetable prices showing a deflation of 10.01 percent, an improvement from the 8.93 percent deflation in July.

However, prices for potatoes and onions remained elevated, with inflation rates of 77.96 percent and 65.75 percent, respectively.

The fuel and power category saw deflation of 0.67 percent in August, a reversal from the 1.72 percent inflation recorded in July.

Retail inflation, released last week, stood at 3.65 percent in August, slightly up from 3.60 percent in July, largely due to higher vegetable prices.

Despite the fluctuations in inflation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept its benchmark interest rate, or repo rate, unchanged at 6.5 percent for the ninth consecutive time in August, as it primarily focuses on retail inflation in its monetary policy decisions.