India’s wholesale inflation rises to 8.3% led by Crude petroleum

Wholesale price inflation in April rose sharply to 8.3 per cent from 3.88 per cent in March, driven mainly by a steep rise in fuel and energy prices, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Thursday.

As per the data, the fuel and power category recorded the highest inflation among major groups at 24.71 per cent in April, compared with 1.05 per cent in March. The index for the segment rose 18.22 per cent month-on-month, mainly due to higher prices of mineral oils.

Advertisement

WPI-based inflation was pushed higher by rising prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, basic metals and other manufactured products.

The overall fuel and power index increased to 181.7 in April from 153.7 in March.

Crude petroleum and natural gas inflation surged to 67.18 per cent year-on-year in April while the Crude petroleum alone recorded inflation of 88.06 per cent. Further, petrol inflation stood at 32.40 per cent, while high-speed diesel (HSD) inflation came in at 25.19 per cent during the month. LPG prices also rose, with inflation at 10.92 per cent.

As per the recently released data, India’s retail inflation for April is recorded at 3.48% on a year-on-year basis while food inflation, based on the Consumer Food Price Index, in April 2026 is at 4.20%.

India’s retail inflation accelerated to a 13-month high moving closer to the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term target of 4%.

Retail food inflation rose to 4.20% in April from 3.87% in March, with rural inflation accelerating faster than urban areas.

Vegetable prices remained mixed with the Potato inflation stayed sharply negative at -23.69%, while onion prices declined 17.67% year-on-year. Tomato prices surged 35.28% in April.