New Delhi, July 14 -- India's wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation fell to a 21-month low of -0.13% in June, marking the first negative reading since October 2023, according to provisional data released by the ministry of commerce on Monday.

The WPI, a proxy for producers' prices, stood at 0.39% in May, 0.85% in April, 2.25% in March, 2.38% in February, and 2.51% in January.

The reading was below expectations, with prices rising less than the 0.52% projected by economists in a Reuters poll.

A decline in prices of food, non-food manufacturing, fuel and power segments contributed to the dip in the overall headline print.

The fall in WPI-based inflation for June was largely led by a fall in food prices amid softer prints for fruit...