New Delhi, April 18:
The high rate of inflation in March “is primarily due to the rise in prices of crude petroleum and natural gas, mineral oils, basic metals owing to the disruption in (the) global supply chain caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict,” the government has said. India’s wholesale price-based inflation (WPI) rose to a four-month high of 14.55 per cent in March, the latest government data showed.
In March 2021, the government had registered a WPI of 7.89 per cent, according to the official figures. The “month over month” change in the WPI index for March stood at 2.69 per cent as compared to February, the official statement said.
The prices of crude petroleum and natural gas (21.18%), minerals (9.72%) and non-food articles (2.94%) increased in March as compared to February, it added, underlining that the prices of food articles declined in March as compared to February.
In the fuel and power category, the index increased by 5.68 per cent to 146.9 (provisional) in March from 139.0 (provisional) for the month of February.
