Price rises based on comprehensive prices fell to a 10-month low of 2.76 percent in January over the preceding month on softening prices of fuel and some food items, according to administration data released Thursday.

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based rise stood at 3.8 percent in December 2018, and 3.02 percent in January 2018.

WPI increase stood at 2.74 percent in March 2018.

Inflation in kitchen fundamentals like potato, onion, fruits, and milk softened in January over the preceding month, the data exposed.

However, the rate of price rise in the food basket, as a whole, rose to 2.34 percent in the month under review compared to a deflation (-0.07 percent) in the previous month.

The retail price rises, released earlier this week, too decline marginally to 2.05 percent in January over the previous month on continuous decline in food prices, including vegetables and eggs.

The WPI data were further open that wholesale based price inflation for 'fuel and power' segment fell sharply to 1.85 percent as against 8.38 percent in December 2018, due to easing in prices of motor fuel and LPG.

Also, there was reducing inflation in contrived products basket in spite of higher in some items like sugar and apparel.

The Reserve Bank, which mainly factors in retail price rises based Consumer Price Index (CPI), had cut the key lending rate by 0.25 percent this month.

The decline in inflation may offer further head-room to the central bank to cut interest rate (repo) in coming months, experts said.