India's wholesale inflation eases to 2.05% in March from 2.38% in Feb: Govt data

Wholesale inflation eased to 2.05% in March from 2.38% in the previous month, mainly on account of softening prices of primary articles and fuel, official data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry, the annual rate of inflation based on the All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) stood at 2.05% in March, down from 2.38% in February.

The moderation in WPI inflation was driven by a decline in the prices of food articles, non-food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, electricity and mineral oils.

The wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation, however, rose year-on-year. It was 0.26 per cent in March 2024.

The index for primary articles, which has a weightage of 22.62% in the WPI, fell 1.07% month-on-month to 184.6 in March. Prices of crude petroleum and natural gas dipped by 2.42%, non-food articles by 2.40%, and food articles by 0.72%.

Similarly, the fuel and power basket (weight 13.15%) saw a decline of 0.91% to 152.4 in March, led by a 2.31% fall in electricity prices and a 0.70% dip in mineral oils. Coal prices, however, remained unchanged.

On the other hand, manufactured products, which constitute 64.23% of the WPI, recorded a 0.42% rise in the index to 144.4 in March. Sixteen out of 22 two-digit NIC groups under manufacturing witnessed price increases, including basic metals, food products, and transport equipment.

The WPI Food Index, which combines food articles from primary articles and manufactured food products, edged lower to 188.8 in March from 189.0 in February. Annual food inflation based on the index also eased to 4.66% from 5.94% in February.