India’s WPI inflation spikes to 14.55% in March: Govt information

India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) Data: The wholesale inflation throughout the nation rose to 14.55 per cent in March, information launched by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry confirmed.

The wholesale worth index (WPI) grew 13.11 per cent through the month of February, whereas the WPI for January was revised to 13.68 per cent from 12.96 per cent, the info confirmed. The WPI in March 2021 was at 7.89 per cent.

The WPI inflation has remained within the double digits for the twelfth consecutive month starting April 2021.

“The high rate of inflation in March, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of crude petroleum & natural gas, mineral oils, basic metals, etc owing to disruption in global supply chain caused by Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the federal government mentioned in its press launch.

The meals articles section witnessed an increase of 8.06 per cent in March, the info confirmed. In the month previous to that, this was 8.19 per cent. The marginal month-on-month easing might be attributed to a fall in vegetable costs.

Vegetable costs rose 19.88 per cent in March, towards an increase of 26.93 per cent in February, the info confirmed. Prices of potato climbed 24.62 per cent whereas that of onions slipped (-)9.33 per cent. However the costs of fruits witnessed a spike of 10.62 per cent final month from 10.30 per cent in February, whereas that of wheat rose 14.04 per cent from 11.03 per cent a month in the past. Eggs, meat and fish costs rose 9.42 per cent in March up from 8.14 per cent a month in the past whereas cereals rose 8.12 per cent final month from 6.07 per cent.

The gas and energy section spiked to 34.52 per cent final month from 31.50 per cent in February. Petrol worth rose by 53.44 per cent, HSD (High-Speed Diesel) gained by 52.22 per cent and LPG costs inched by 24.88 per cent.

The manufactured merchandise section rose 10.71 per cent in March, up from 9.84 per cent within the month prior.

In a separate information launched final week, the nation’s retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to six.95 per cent within the month of March.