India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation rose sharply to 11.39% in September, from 9.92% in August, on an annual basis. According to the provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the annual inflation last month was driven by higher prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, coal and lignite, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, textiles, rubber and plastic products and electrical equipment.

Among the major categories in WPI, year-on-year inflation in the Fuel and Power group surged to 25.85% in September, from 22.93% in August. Inflation in Manufactured Products rose to 9.76%, from 8.37%, and inflation in Primary Articles edged up to 8.67%, from 7.76%, during the same period. The WPI Food Index, which comprises food articles and food products, rose to 8.66% in September, from 7.05% in August. The Output Producer Price Index increased by 11.38% year-on-year in September. According to the data, cumulative WPI inflation during the first half of this financial year stood at 9.85%, compared with a contraction of 0.2% during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.