India's WPI Inflation Turns Positive at 0.83% in December, Exceeding Expectations

• India's Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rose to 0.83% year-on-year in December, reversing November's deflationary figure of -0.32%.
• The December WPI figure significantly surpassed market expectations of 0.30%, indicating a faster easing of deflationary pressures.
• The rebound was primarily driven by base effects and increased food and global commodity prices, impacting primary articles and manufactured goods.
• Food inflation saw an uptick due to higher prices of vegetables, pulses, and cereals, while manufactured product inflation also firmed up.
• Economists suggest positive WPI inflation indicates improving pricing power for producers and that wholesale deflation has likely bottomed out.

Why It Matters: India's WPI inflation turned positive in December, signaling easing deflationary pressures and improved producer pricing power.