Price tags are seen on the samples of rice and lentils that are kept on display for sale at a wholesale market in the old quarters of Delhi.
Credit: Reuters File Photo
New Delhi: India’s wholesale price-based inflation fell to a 13-month low of 0.85 per cent in April from 2.05 per cent in the previous month largely due to softening in prices of fuel, power and food items, as per data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry
on Wednesday.
Price of vegetables fell sharply sequentially as well as on a year-on-year basis. In the wholesale market, the average price of vegetables in April was 18.26% cheaper when compared with the same month last year. Potatoes became cheaper by 24.30 per cent while the price of pulses dropped by 5.57 per cent.
The overall inflationary pressure has eased despite a low base. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at 1.19 per cent in April 2024. Food inflation dropped to an 18-month low of 2.55 per cent in April from 4.66 per cent in March.
Two out of the three sub-categories of the WPI index registered deflation. Fuel and power prices dropped by 2.18 per cent year-on-year during the month under review while price of primary articles declined by 1.44 per cent. Cereals inflation fell near four years low of 3.8 per cent.
“The easing food inflation would help in bringing relief to households and the consumption demand as we begin the new fiscal,” said Paras Jasrai, Associate Director, India Ratings and Research.
Jasrai said the sharp drop in global commodity prices due to tariff wars has led to deflation in the fuel and power category. Wholesale price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), petrol and diesel declined on a year-on-year basis in April.
Inflation in manufactured products, which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the WPI basket, declined to 2.62 per cent in April from 3.07 per cent in the previous month.
The declining trend was broad-based with core inflation also moderating after increasing for the past six months. It stood at a three-month low of 1.3 per cent in April 2025 due to a decline in base metal prices. The prices of base metals recorded a decline of 0.6% yoy in April on account of fall in global prices.
Rahul Agrawal, Senior Economist, ICRA, said WPI inflation is expected to soften further due to favourable trends in food items along with the softening in commodity and crude prices in the global markets.
“Looking ahead, the IMD’s expectation of an early monsoon onset in Kerala and an above normal monsoon in the country is a positive for crop output,” Agrawal said.
Easing in general price rise is reflected in both retail and wholesale inflation data. Retail inflation declined to a 6-year low of 3.16 per cent in April, as per the National Statistics Office (NSO) data released on Tuesday.