Wholesale prices go up to 15.1% in April

This marks the highest inflation rate in the current data series, eclipsing 14.9% recorded in November 2021

Inflation in wholesale prices hit 15.1% in April, the highest in the current data series, from 14.5% in March, driven largely by a spike in fuel prices and food items, especially perishables like fruits, vegetables and milk.  

The previous high inflation rate recorded in the current series of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with a base year of 2011-12, was 14.9% in November 2021. There was no base effect at work as wholesale price inflation last April stood at 10.74%.

Fuel and power inflation touched 38.66% in April, up from 34.5% in March, while manufactured products inflation inched up slightly from 10.7% to 10.85% and food price inflation rose from 8.7% to 8.9%. Primary articles were the only group to see a decline in inflation rate, but only eased from 15.54% in March to 15.45% in April

Within fuel and power, inflation in LPG was recorded at 38.48%, while petrol and diesel recorded a price rise of 60.6% and 66.1%, respectively.

Among food items, inflation in potatoes was at 19.8%, while vegetables inflation hit 23.2%. Fruit prices clocked 10.9% inflation, slightly higher than the 10.6% reported in March, while wheat prices rose 10.7% as per the official data, cooling off from 14.04% in March.

The heatwave spurred up prices of perishables such as fruits, vegetables and milk, which along with a spike in tea prices pushed up the primary food inflation, ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar said. Core-WPI inflation, that excludes food and fuel items, also hit a four-month high of 11.1% in April as producers were forced to pass on the input price pressures, she added.

The demand setbacks in China leading to some correction in commodity prices could help offset the rupee’s depreciation and nudge inflation in wholesale prices below 15% in May, but it would still be ‘uncomfortably elevated’, ICRA reckoned.