Wholesale price-based inflation declined to an 18-month low of 10.7 per cent in September as prices of food, fuel and manufactured items softened. However, it continued to remain in the double-digit for the 18th month since April 2021.

“Inflation in September is primarily high because of the rise in the prices of mineral oils, food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, basic metals, electricity and textiles compared with the corresponding month of the previous year,” an official statement said.

Wholesale inflation was 12.41 per cent in August and 11.80 per cent in September last year.

The WPI touched a record high of 15.88 per cent this year in May.

Inflation in food articles in September eased to 11.03 per cent from 12.37 per cent in August.

However, inflation in vegetables rose to 39.66 per cent during the month under review against 22.29 per cent in August.

Madan Sabnavis, chief economist, Bank of Baroda, said: “Care has to be taken when interpreting these numbers as a lot of these movements has been driven by the base effect as the WPI was elevated in FY22. Hence even when global commodity prices were increasing, the WPI, though elevated did witness a decline.”