inflation declined to (-) 0.32 per cent year-on-year, compared to (-) 1.21 per cent in October.
The moderation was primarily driven by a broad-based decline in prices of food articles, fuel and power items, basic metals,
and crude petroleum and natural gas. The data reflects easing cost pressures across key sectors of the economy, even as month-on-month prices
showed a moderate uptick.
Food Prices Lead the Disinflation Trend
A major contributor to the negative inflation print was the continued softness in food prices.
The WPI Food Index, which combines food articles and manufactured food products, recorded an annual inflation rate of (-) 2.60 per cent in November,
improving from (-) 5.04 per cent in October.
Vegetables, pulses and onions continued to register sharp year-on-year declines, reflecting improved supply conditions.
Onion prices fell by over 64 per cent compared to November 2024, while potato prices were lower by more than 36 per cent.
Pulses also remained deeply deflationary, easing pressure on household food expenditure.
However, some items such as milk, eggs, meat and fish saw modest inflation, indicating mixed trends within the food basket.
Fuel and Power Remain in Deflation Zone
Fuel and power prices continued to remain in deflationary territory, with the group registering a year-on-year decline of (-) 2.27 per cent in November.
Lower prices of petrol, high-speed diesel and LPG contributed to this trend, even as electricity prices recorded a notable month-on-month increase.
Crude petroleum and natural gas prices also declined sharply on an annual basis, reflecting softer global energy markets.
The index for crude petroleum alone showed a year-on-year contraction of nearly 14 per cent.
Manufactured Products Show Mild Inflation
Manufactured products, which account for over 64 per cent of the WPI basket, recorded a modest inflation rate of 1.33 per cent in November,
down from 1.54 per cent in October. On a month-on-month basis, prices in this category edged lower by 0.07 per cent.
Prices declined in several key segments, including basic metals, fabricated metal products, chemicals and non-metallic mineral products.
This indicates easing input costs for downstream industries such as construction, infrastructure and manufacturing.
At the same time, select categories like textiles, machinery and electrical equipment witnessed marginal price increases,
reflecting steady demand conditions.
Month-on-Month Movement Signals Seasonal Pressures
Despite the negative annual inflation, the overall WPI rose by 0.71 per cent on a month- on-month basis in November, compared to October.
Primary articles recorded a sharp monthly increase of over 2 per cent, driven by higher mineral and food prices.
Economists note that such month-on-month movements often reflect seasonal factors and short-term supply dynamics,
rather than a reversal of the broader disinflationary trend.
Policy Implications and Outlook
The continued softness in wholesale inflation provides comfort to policymakers amid global uncertainty and domestic growth concerns.
Lower input costs can help improve corporate margins and ease price pressures at the retail level over time.
However, experts caution that WPI trends do not always translate directly into consumer inflation, which remains the key metric for
monetary policy decisions by the Reserve Bank of India.
DPIIT noted that the November WPI figures are provisional and based on a weighted response rate of 82 per cent,
with revisions expected as more data becomes available. The WPI data is compiled from institutional sources and manufacturing units across the country.
