Wholesale Inflation Falls for 17th Straight Month

New Delhi: India's wholesale prices fell for a 17th straight month in March, declining by an annual 0.85 per cent, driven down by tumbling prices of oil and manufactured goods, government data showed on Monday.

The pace of fall was faster than a 0.77 per cent annual decline forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. In February, the index fell a provisional 0.91 per cent.

Wholesale fuel prices dropped 8.30 per cent from a year ago in March, while prices of manufactured goods declined 0.13 per cent year on year.

Food prices last month gained 3.73 per cent year-on-year, compared with a provisional 3.35 per cent gain in February.