Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation contracted sharply for the 10th straight month to -4.95 percent in the month of August against negative 4.05 percent in July, influenced by global deflationary trend in commodity prices.
The fall compared with a 4.40 percent year-on-year decline forecast by economists in a Reuters poll and a provisional 4.05 percent plunge in July.
The wholesale fuel prices tumbled 16.50 percent from a year ago, while food prices dropped 1.13 percent year-on-year.
Prices of manufactured goods declined 1.92 percent on year last month.
The WPI number follows retail inflation data which had slipped to a record low of 3.78 percent in July.
Arvind Subramanian, Modi`s chief economic adviser, early this month warned of looming deflation and called for measures to boost consumer demand and step up investment.
RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, however, is worried about a resurgence in price pressures in a country where inflation has been notoriously volatile.
With Agency Inputs
