The wholesale inflation in India saw a marginal uptick to 0.53% in March compared to 0.20% in the previous month, largely driven by rising prices of vegetables, potato, onion and crude oil.
The data, released by the commerce and industry ministry on Monday sheds light on the country’s economic sphere especially in the wake of global price fluctuations.
The Wholesale Price Index(WPI) based inflation had been in the negative territory from April to October but turned positive in November at 0.26%.
However, the March 2023 figure stood at 1.41% indicating a moderation in inflationary pressures.
The significant contributors to the uptick were the food sector, witnessing a marginal increase to 6.88% in March from 5.42% in the corresponding period last year.
While vegetable prices soared by 19.52%, a stark contrast to the (-2.39%) recorded in March 2023.
Potato prices witnessed a surge of 52.96%, compared to a deflation of 25.59% in March 2023, while onion prices sky rooted by 56.99%, compared to (-36.83%) in the same period last year.
Inflation in the crude petroleum segment rose by 10.26% in March this year, a marked difference to the deflation of 23.53% observed in March 2023.
This increase can be attributed to the hardening of crude oil prices globally, highlighting the impact of international dynamics on domestic inflation.
Conversely, retail inflation witnessed a decline, reaching a five-month low of 4.85% previous year. This duo was primarily attributed to cooling food prices, providing some respite amidst concerns over rising wholesale inflation.
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