An exponential rise in food prices accelerated India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices to 3.59 per cent in October.According to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry released on Tuesday, the wholesale price index (WPI), with the revised base year of 2011-12, went up in October to 3.59 per cent from 2.60 per cent in September.On a segment-wise basis, the expenses on primary articles, which constitute 22.62 per cent of the WPI's total weightage, edged higher by 3.33 per cent from an increase of 0.15 per cent in September 2017.The prices of food articles rose by 4.30 per cent from an acceleration of 2.04 per cent during September 2017 and a rise of 2.98 per cent in October 2016.In terms of food prices, the YoY (Year-over-year) wholesale inflation rate for onion was higher by 127.04 per cent, whereas for potatoes it plunged by (-)44.29 per cent.In contrast, the overall vegetable prices in October rose by 36.61 per cent, against a fall of (-)11.84 per cent in the same month a year ago.As per data, wheat became cheaper by (-)1.99 per cent on YoY basis and the prices of pulses came down by (-)31.05 per cent, but that of paddy became dearer by 3.10 per cent.
Protein-based food items such as eggs, meat and fish became expensive by 5.76 per cent during the month under review.Prices of other major group under the WPI, manufactured products, which comprise nearly 64.23 per cent of the index, recorded a 2.62 per cent rise.The sub-category of manufactured food products registered a rise of 1.26 per cent.Fuel and power prices' inflation accelerated by 10.52 per cent.Product-wise, the price of high-speed diesel rose by 15.43 per cent during October while that for petrol climbed by 12.87 per cent and for LPG by 26.53 per cent.This is the second macro-economic inflation data point for October that has shown a surge in prices.The consumer price index (CPI) inflation for October rose to 3.58 per cent from 3.28 per cent reported for September.The CPI inflation last month on a YoY basis was lower than 4.20 per cent recorded in October 2016.The overall food prices, as gauged by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), rose to 1.90 per cent during the month under review from 1.25 per cent in September 2017.