India's Wholesale Inflation Sees a Dip in March

India's wholesale inflation eased to 2.05% in March, down from 2.38% in February, primarily driven by a sharp decline in food prices, according to official data released on Tuesday.

Notable Year-on-Year Rise Despite Monthly Drop

Despite the monthly drop, the wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation showed a significant year-on-year rise compared to just 0.26% in March 2024.

Sector-wise Inflation Trends

Food inflation notably dropped to 1.57% in March from 3.38% in February. The steepest decline was seen in vegetable prices, which recorded a deflation of 15.88%, compared to 5.80% the previous month.

On the other hand, inflation in manufactured products rose to 3.07% in March, up from 2.86% in February, indicating stronger pricing pressures in the industrial sector.

Fuel and power categories also witnessed an uptick in inflation, registering a marginal rise of 0.20% in March, reversing a deflationary trend of 0.71% observed in February.

Who Releases WPI Data?

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry releases the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for India on a monthly basis, typically on the 14th of each month.