India's wholesale price-indexed (WPI) inflation in August has risen to 3.24 per cent, nearly double that of July, government data showed on Thursday. The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI, stood at 3.24 per cent (provisional) for the month of August, 2017 (over August,2016) as compared to 1.88 per cent (provisional) for the previous month and 1.09 per cent during the corresponding month of the previous year, a Ministry of Commerce & Industry statement said.
Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 1.41 per cent compared to a build up rate of 3.25 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, it said.
The index for ‘Food Articles’ group rose by 2.2 percent to 150.8 (provisional) from 147.6 (provisional) for the previous month due to higher price of betel leaves (9 per cent), fruits & vegetables (8 per cent), ragi (6 per cent), condiments & spices (3 per cent), peas/chawali and fish-marine (2 per cent each) and arhar, beef & buffalo meat, fish-inland, milk and wheat (1 per cent each). However, the price of poultry chicken (10 per cent), urad (5 per cent), coffee and tea (3 per cent each) and jowar, maize, masur, bajra, moong, paddy and egg (1 per cent each) declined.
