New Delhi: Wholesale inflation has given a big blow today. The country’s wholesale price index (WPI) has risen to 7.39 per cent in the month of March. This is the highest level of wholesale inflation in the last 8 years. The wholesale price index stood at 4.17 per cent in February 2021. But according to government data released today, due to the rise in fuel and electricity prices, a huge increase in wholesale inflation has been recorded in March. Along with this, the price rise of manufactured products is also responsible for this hit of inflation.
Inflation in the fuel and power sector rose to 10.25 per cent in March, compared to a mere 0.58 per cent in February. Inflation rate in primary articles also saw a rise of more than three times and it reached 6.40 percent in March as compared to 1.82 percent in February 2021. Wholesale prices of food and drink items also registered an increase of 5.28 per cent in the month of March, compared to 3.31 per cent in February.
The prices of manufactured products saw a 5.81 percent rise in February, but the prices of these products increased by 7.34 percent in March. Manufactured goods have a weightage of 64 per cent in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI). Apparently, the increase in their prices has had a major impact on the wholesale inflation rate.
