Higher food price drives wholesale inflation to 0.53% in March

India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation accelerated to 0.53 percent in March on an annual basis compared to 0.20 percent in February, according to the provisional data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

The ministry attributed the rise in inflation to increase in prices of food articles, electricity, crude petroleum & natural gas, machinery & equipment and other manufacturing, etc. 

WPI inflation stood at 1.34 per cent in March 2023.

The prices of crude petroleum and natural gas (1.35 percent), food articles (1 percent), minerals (0.58 percent), non-food articles (0.44 percent), electricity (0.13 percent), mineral oils (0.13 percent) increased in March compared to February. However, the price of coal (-0.15 percent) declined in March compared to the previous month.

According to the data, food products, motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers, rubber and plastics products, other manufacturing, chemicals and chemical products etc recorded increase in prices on a month-over-month (MoM) basis. Fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment, basic metals, pharmaceuticals, medicinal chemical & botanical products, textiles and wearing apparel posted a decline in prices.

The Wholesale Price Index or WPI measures the change in prices of goods sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businesses with other companies. Unlike the CPI, which tracks prices of goods and services purchased by consumers, WPI tracks factory gate prices and retail prices.