Wholesale Inflation Surges To Record High Of 14.5% In March

The wholesale price-based inflation rose to record-high at 14.55 per cent in March, according to the data released by the Ministry of Finance on Monday. 

The high rate of inflation in March, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of crude petroleum and natural gas, mineral oils, basic metals, etc owing to disruption in global supply chain caused by Russia-Ukraine conflict.

This is the 12th consecutive month where the WPI inflation remained in double digits beginning April 2021. 

Inflation last month was 13.11 per cent, while wholesale inflation in March last year stood at 7.39 per cent.

Fuel inflation stood at 34.52 per cent, whereas WPI Index for manufactured products stood at 10.71 per cent in March. 

The Reserve Bank earlier this month kept its key repo rate -- at which it lends short-term money to banks -- unchanged for the 11th time in a row at 4 per cent, to support growth as well as manage inflationary pressures.

Raghvendra Nath, Managing Director – Ladderup Wealth Management Private Limited said, "WPI worsened further to 14.55 per cent in March, being the 12th straight month where the inflation has stayed in double digits. This was the highest month-on-month WPI increase experienced by the economy since the WPI series began in 2004. The margins of companies across sectors may further face headwinds for at least the next 2 quarters, owing to the Russia-Ukraine war as it continues to affect commodity and food prices, a fresh set of restrictions if implemented due to the rising Covid-19 cases can again be troublesome for the economy.”