New Delhi: The wholesale price inflation rose to an eight-year high of 7.39 per cent in March, data released by the government on Thursday showed.
The spike is attributed to the rise in prices of fuel as well as input costs for manufacturers.
“The prices of crude oil, petroleum products and basic metal substantially increased in March 2021 as compared to the corresponding month of last year. Also, due to nationwide lockdown, the WPI index for the month of March 2020 (120.4) was computed with relatively low response rate,” the Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement.
In February, wholesale price index-based inflation was 4.17 per cent. The WPI for January was revised to 2.51 per cent from 2.03 per cent, data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry showed.
The WPI in March 2020 was at 0.42 per cent.
Food articles saw a 3.24 per cent rise in March. In the month prior to that, this was 1.36 per cent.
Vegetable prices contracted (-) 5.19 per cent in March, against (-) 2.90 per cent in February. Pulses prices grew 13.14 per cent last month, while that of fruits rose 16.33 per cent.
The fuel and power segment rose a sharp 10.25 per cent in March with LPG prices jumping by 10.30 per cent and petrol gaining by 18.48 per cent.
According to another set of data released by the government on Monday, the retail inflation or consumer price index (CPI) rose to a four-month high 5.2 per cent in March. (UNI)