India's wholesale price-based inflation in April rose 1.26%, mainly driven by food and primary articles, government data showed on Tuesday.

The April figures were higher than the 1% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters and up from a 0.53% year-on-year rise in March.

Food prices rose 5.52% year-on-year compared with an increase of 4.65% in March, while prices of primary articles were up 5.01% against a 4.51% rise in the previous month.

Manufactured product prices fell 0.42% against a 0.85% drop in the previous month. Fuel and power prices rose 1.38% compared with a 0.77% drop in March.

The country's annual retail inflation rate eased slightly in April, partly due to lower fuel prices, although food prices remained elevated, government data showed on Monday. (Reporting by Nikunj Ohri; Editing by Kim Coghill and Tom Hogue)