NEW DELHI: India’s wholesale prices unexpectedly rose for the first time in 18 months, posting an annual gain of 0.34 per cent, driven up by higher costs for food and manufactured items, government data showed on Monday. The data compared with a 0.20 per cent annual decline forecast by economists. In March, prices fell a provisional 0.85 per cent. Wholesale food prices last month rose 4.23 per cent year-on-year, compared with a provisional 3.73 per cent gain in March. Prices of manufactured goods increased 0.71 per cent year-on-year in April. Fuel prices dropped 4.83 per cent from a year earlier in April, slower than a provisional 8.30 per cent fall a month ago.