India’s wholesale inflation surged to 8.3 per cent in April, sharply above estimates, as a spike in fuel and crude oil prices drove broad-based increases in producer costs across key sectors including manufacturing and metals
India’s wholesale inflation surged to 8.3 per cent year-on-year in April, sharply higher than market expectations and marking the fastest pace in the current series, as a spike in fuel and crude oil prices drove a broad-based rise in producer costs, government data showed on Thursday.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) had risen 3.88 per cent in March, underscoring a steep month-on-month acceleration in input price pressures across sectors.
The latest reading also came in well above economists’ expectations. A Reuters poll had projected wholesale inflation at 4.4 per cent for April, highlighting the extent of the upside surprise in energy and commodity-driven price gains.
Fuel shock drives inflation surge
The sharp rise was led by the fuel and power category, which jumped to 24.71 per cent in April compared with 1.05 per cent in March, reflecting elevated global crude oil prices amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and supply uncertainty.
Within the segment, crude petroleum and natural gas inflation surged 67.18 per cent, while petrol and diesel prices rose 32.4 per cent and 25.19 per cent, respectively.
Broad-based price pressures deepen
Beyond energy, inflationary pressures broadened across key industrial segments, signalling strengthening cost-push dynamics in the economy.
Manufactured products inflation rose to 4.62 per cent in April from 3.39 per cent in March, driven by higher prices of chemicals, textiles and basic metals.
Basic metals inflation climbed to 7 per cent, while chemicals and chemical products rose 5.09 per cent, pointing to rising input costs for core manufacturing industries.
First Published:
May 14, 2026, 12:26 IST
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Dheeraj Kumar is a Business Correspondent at Firstpost, reporting on markets, macroeconomics and corporate developments. A postgraduate in English Journalism from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi, he previously worked with Reuters’ Global News Monitoring team and has also worked with Prasar Bharati, and PTI. He is an avid reader with a deep interest in philosophy and the evolving role of artificial intelligence in journalism.
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