New Delhi, Sept 14 (KNN) Inflation based on wholesale prices eased to 4.53 percent in August, the lowest in four months,  mainly due to easing of prices of food articles, especially vegetables.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at 5.09 percent in July and 3.24 percent in August last year.

According to a press release by the Ministry of Statistics, inflation in manufactured products, which includes items such as food/beverages, tobacco, chemicals and pharma, and has the maximum weightage of over 64 per cent on the WPI index, stood at 0.3 per cent.

The food articles registered deflation at 4.04 percent in August 2018. Last month, deflation in this category was 2.16 percent.

Deflation in vegetables was 20.18 percent in August, as against 14.07 percent in the previous month.

Deflationary trend in food articles offset the double-digit inflation in 'fuel and power' basket in August. Inflation in this category was 17.73 percent as prices of domestic fuel increased during the month, in line with high global crude oil rates.

While inflation in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) was 46.08 percent, in diesel and petrol it was 19.90 percent and 16.30 percent, respectively, during August.

Meanwhile, the WPI inflation for June was revised downwards to 5.68 percent from the provisional estimate of 5.77 percent.

Brent crude oil price was at around USD 79 a barrel. This, along with a depreciating rupee has increased the oil import bill, thereby making petrol and diesel costlier.

Petrol price Thursday climbed to an all-time high of Rs 81 per litre in Delhi, while in Mumbai it inched up to Rs 88.39. A litre of diesel in the national capital was priced at Rs 73.08 and Rs 77.58 in Mumbai. (KNN Bureau)