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Informist, Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2026

 

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--India Mar WPI inflation 3.88% 
--India Mar WPI inflation 3.88% vs 2.13?b 
--Informist Poll estimated India Mar WPI inflation at 3.6% 
--India Mar WPI food inflation 1.85% vs 1.85?b 
--India Mar WPI primary articles inflation 6.36% vs 3.27?b 
--India Mar WPI fuel and power inflation 1.05% vs -3.78?b 
--India Mar WPI manufactured products inflation 3.39% vs 2.92?b 
--India Mar WPI all commodities index up 1.6% on month 
--India Mar WPI food index down 0.1% on month 
--India Mar WPI primary articles index up 2.3% on month 
--India Mar WPI fuel and power group index up 4.1% on month 
--India Mar WPI manufactured products index up 0.9% on month 
--India Mar WPI vegetable index down 7.7% on month 
--India Mar WPI cereals index down 1.0% on month 
--India Mar WPI edible oils index up 2.3% on month 
--India Mar WPI basic metals index up 0.8% on month 
--India Mar WPI fuel and power index up 4.1% on month 
--India Jan WPI inflation revised to 1.68% vs 1.81% provisional 
--India Mar WPI core inflation 3.7% vs 3.3?b 
--India Mar WPI inflation of 3.88% highest in 38 months 
--India Mar WPI core inflation of 3.7% highest in 41 months

 

NEW DELHI – India's WPI inflation rose to an over three-year high in March due to higher prices of crude oil and fuel products because of the war in West Asia, data released by the commerce ministry Wednesday showed. At 3.88%, WPI inflation in March was higher than 2.13% in February.

 

The inflation was higher than expectations. Economists had estimated March WPI inflation at 3.6%, according to an Informist Poll. The January print was revised lower to 1.68% from the provisional estimate of 1.81%. WPI inflation was 2.25% in March last year.

 

WPI core inflation rose to a 41-month high of 3.7% in March. A month ago, the WPI core inflation was 3.3%.

 

Crude petroleum and natural gas inflation skyrocketed 36.2% on month in March amid the ongoing war in West Asia, which has pushed up global energy prices and choked supplies. Wholesale crude petroleum prices rose 49.1% on month in March. WPI crude petroleum inflation rose to 51.57% last month--the highest since July 2022. Natural gas inflation hit a five-month high of 3.93% in March.

WPI fuel and power inflation hit a 20-month high as it rose 1.05% last month. Fuel and power inflation was in a negative territory in 18 of the last 19 months before March. Wholesale high speed diesel inflation rose to 3.26% in March, the first time it was in the positive territory since April 2023. Wholesale petrol prices rose on a year-on-years basis for the first time since May 2024.

 

WPI food inflation was 1.85% in March, the same as in February. Manufactured products inflation rose to a 40-month high of 3.39% in March.

 

Sequentially, the all commodities index of the WPI was up 1.6% in March, the largest month-on-month rise since July 2023. The sequential rise was driven by a 4.1% increase in the fuel and power index.

 

Wholesale food prices remained unchanged in March, with deflation in kitchen staples such as onion and potato offset by higher prices of fruits and food products. Wholesale vegetable inflation was 1.45% in March, lower than 4.73% in February. Non-food articles inflation rose to 11.5% in March, on the back of oil seeds inflation at 22.81%.

 

"Looking ahead, the adverse impact of the surge in global energy prices, along with elevated shipping, freight and input prices is expected to continue to weigh on the landed cost of imports, thereby exerting upward pressure on the WPI print for April 2026," Rahul Agrawal, senior economist at ICRA, said.

 

ICRA expects the WPI inflation to rise to around 4.8% in April. The rating agency expects WPI inflation to rise to around 3.5% in 2026-27 (Apr-Mar) assuming crude oil prices average $85 per barrel during the year. WPI inflation fell to 0.7% in FY26 from 2.3% in FY25.

 

WPI inflation rose above its retail counterpart last month. Headline inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index, rose to a 12-month high of 3.40% in March due to higher food inflation.

 

The following table details the sequential and annual increase in the main components of the WPI:

 

	Weight (%)	March (index)	Month-on-month change (in %)	Year-on-year change
				March	February
ALL COMMODITIES	100	160.8	1.6	3.88%	2.13%
PRIMARY ARTICLES	22.62	197.3	2.3	6.36%	3.27%
Food articles	15.26	198.5	(-)0.9	1.90%	2.19%
Cereals	2.82	205.8	(-)1.0	(-)2.51%	(-)2.44%
Pulses	0.64	194.4	(-)1.3	(-)5.17%	(-)5.92%
Vegetables	1.87	182.0	(-)7.7	1.45%	4.73%
Potato	0.28	143.9	(-)8.3	(-)27.94%	(-)27.42%
Onion	0.16	157.8	(-)12.0	(-)42.11%	(-)40.95%
Tomato	0.28	185.5	(-)14.67	30.08%	35.20%
Fruits	1.6	223.1	2.7	2.11%	3.57%
Milk	4.44	192.1	0.0	2.62%	3.00%
Eggs, meat, and fish	2.4	181.7	0.6	6.63%	5.36%
Non-food articles	4.12	181.3	(-)0.2	11.50%	8.80%
Oil seeds	1.12	220.2	(-)1.8	22.81%	25.38%
Minerals	0.83	253.4	0.1	3.22%	11.06%
Crude petroleum	1.95	183.1	49.1	51.57%	(-)1.29%
FUEL and POWER	13.15	153.7	4.1	1.05%	(-)3.78%
Coal	2.14	138	0.0	1.77%	1.77%
Liquefied petroleum gas	0.64	121.8	3.8	(-)1.54%	(-)4.63%
Petrol	1.6	155.6	7.8	2.50%	(-)5.38%
High speed diesel	3.1	170.8	6.5	3.26%	(-)3.72%
Electricity	3.06	142.2	(-)5.07	(-)6.01%	(-)2.98%
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS	64.23	149.5	0.9	3.39%	2.92%
Food products	9.12	183.4	1.5	1.83%	1.12%
Edible oils	2.64	194.6	2.3	1.67%	0.21%
Textiles	4.88	143.2	1.3	4.91%	3.29%
Chemical, chemical products	6.47	139.9	1.5	2.19%	0.73%
Non-metallic mineral products	3.2	134.1	0.3	1.28%	0.30%
Cement and lime	1.64	132.4	0.0	1.07%	(-)0.30%
Basic metals	9.65	145.1	0.8	4.01%	4.35%
Semi-finished steel	1.27	118.7	0.6	0.34%	0.51%

 

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry

 

End

 

Reported by Shweta and Shubham Rana

Edited by Ashish Shirke

 

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