India's wholesale price index (WPI) rate of inflation moderated in November to under 2%, according to official figures released Monday.

The nation's WPI logged an on-year inflation rate of 1.89% in November, cooler than the 2.36% on-year rate recorded in October, reported the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MCI).

On month, the India WPI slipped modestly in November, declining 0.06% from October, added the MCI.

India's WPI measures the price of products sold between business enterprises, such as in bulk at the factory gate, or between distributors. The WPI is distinct from the consumer price index (CPI), that measures prices in retail locations.

Pushing up India's WPI in November were food prices, which rose 8.92% on year.

Primary articles rose 4.59%, manufactured products rose by 2%, and fuel and power bills declined 5.83% at the wholesale level in November on year.

Like many other nations, India faced a bout of inflation during and in the aftermath of the pandemic era.

The nation's WPI crested at a 16.63% on-year inflation rate in May of 2020, before briefly declining into deflation in 2023. In 2024, the WPI has posted between near zero and 3.43%, on year.

Wholesale prices are considered one precursor to later movements in the CPI, as retailers try to recoup costs or pass on savings to shoppers.

The Reserve Bank of India has a 4%, plus or minus 2%, inflation band target on the nation's CPI.

In early December, India's central bank voted to hold its key policy rate unchanged at 6.5%, for the 11th-straight policy meeting.

India's CPI rose 5.48% on year in November, still towards the high side of the central bank's target range.

It remains to be seen if cooling wholesale prices in India will pass through to easing consumer bills in coming months.