India’s wholesale inflation rate rises to 3.18% in April from 2.37% in March 

An exponential rise in food and fuel prices increased India's wholesale inflation rate to 3.18% in April from 2.47 % in the previous month, official data showed on Monday.

“The annual rate of inflation, based on monthly WPI (Wholesale Price Index), stood at 3.18% (provisional) for the month of April 2018 (over April 2017) as compared to 2.47% (provisional) for the previous month and 3.85 % during the corresponding month of the previous year,” said the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the review for April 2018.

According to the Ministry, last month’s rise in WPI inflation rate was slower on a year-on-year (YoY) basis. The rate had increased to 3.85% in April 2017.

Among primary articles, food, which has a weightage of 15.26 % in the index, edged up last month by 0.87 per cent from a deceleration of (-) 0.29 % reported for March.

The cost of fuel and power, which commands a 13.15 per cent weightage in the index, increased at a fast pace of 7.85% during the month, from a growth of 4.70% in March. Similarly, expenses on manufactured products in the month under review registered a rise. It increased by 3.11%, from 3.03% in March.

On a YoY basis, onion prices in April 2018 soared higher by 13.62% and potatoes by 67.94%.Fuel-wise, prices in April 2018 of both high-speed diesel and petrol climbed higher than in the previous month, by 13.01% and 9.45%.

“Build up inflation rate in the financial year so far was 0.69% ...” On a sequential basis, the expenses during the month under consideration on primary articles, which constitute 22.62% of the WPI's total weightage, rose by 1.41 per cent, from a marginal rise of 0.24% in March 2018.