India’s annual wholesale price-based inflation surges to record 14.55% in March

India’s annual wholesale price-based inflation accelerated to a record 14.55% in March from the previous month’s 13.11%, government data showed on Monday.

The wholesale price-based inflation rose to a four-month high of 14.55 per cent in March, mainly due to hardening of crude oil and commodity prices, even though vegetables witnessed easing of price pressures.As per the government data released on Monday, WPI inflation has remained in double digits for the 12th consecutive month beginning April 2021.The last time such a level of WPI was recorded was in November 2021, when inflation was 14.87 per cent.WPI Inflation in February was at 13.11 per cent, while in March last year, it was 7.89 per cent.During the month, inflation in food articles eased to 8.06 per cent, from 8.19 per cent in February. Vegetable inflation was 19.88 per cent, against 26.93 per cent in February.Inflation in manufactured items was 10.71 per cent in March, against 9.84 per cent in February.In the fuel and power basket, the rate of price rise was 34.52 per cent during the month.Inflation in crude petroleum spiked to 83.56 per cent in March, from 55.17 per cent during February.Retail inflation spiked to 6.95 per cent in March — the third consecutive month that the consumer price index has breached the RBI’s tolerance limit of 6 per cent, data released last week showed.The Reserve Bank earlier this month kept its key repo rate — at which it lends short-term money to banks — unchanged for the 11th time in a row at 4 per cent, to support growth.

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