Food inflation soars to 15.58% YoY

India's food price index was up 15.58% in the 12 months to Nov. 14, while the fuel index was down 1.51%, the government said on Thursday.

The worst dry spell in nearly four decades and floods in parts of the country have hurt farm output and pushed up food prices.

On Tuesday, C Rangarajan, Chairman of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Economic Advisory Council, told Reuters food price inflation was the biggest worry for the economy in near term and a strong rise in food prices could prompt monetary action.

India's annual wholesale inflation rose 1.34% in October from a year earlier, compared with 0.5% in September and 11.06% a year ago.