India to Publish Retail Inflation, WPI and Forex Reserve Data Amid Declining Reserves

India's economic agenda this week centers on three key data releases. On October 12, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation will release September's retail inflation, after provisional August CPI climbed to 4.82% with food prices remaining a major pressure point. Two days later, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will publish September's wholesale price index, succeeding an August WPI of 9.92% and a surge in fuel and power inflation to 22.93%.

The Reserve Bank of India will then disclose foreign-exchange reserves for the week ended October 9 on October 16, showing a $12.95 billion decline to $734.6 billion, the fourth weekly drop as the RBI sold dollars to curb rupee weakness. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the reserves still provide about 11 months of import cover and equal 94.4% of external debt. These figures will shape monetary-policy considerations and market expectations.