WPI inflation hits 42-month high at 8.3% as West Asia conflict fuels oil shock 

India’s wholesale price inflation accelerated sharply to a 42-month high of 8.3 per cent in April, driven by a steep rise in energy prices following disruptions caused by the ongoing West Asia conflict. 

Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation stood at 3.88 per cent in March and 0.85 per cent in April last year, highlighting the sharp surge in producer-level price pressures. 

According to global brokerage Barclays, the sequential increase in WPI inflation was the highest on record in the series, largely due to the spike in global crude oil prices. 

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The fuel and power segment emerged as the biggest contributor to the surge, with inflation in the category climbing to a 42-month high of 24.71 per cent in April from 1.05 per cent in March. Inflation in crude petroleum alone shot up to 88.06 per cent, the highest level since October 2021. 

The escalation in prices comes amid disruptions to India’s crude imports following the West Asia war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route. The sharp rise in international crude prices has also significantly increased fuel import costs. 

“Positive rate of inflation in April 2026 is primarily due to an increase in prices of mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals, other manufacturing and non-food articles, etc,” the commerce and industry ministry said in a statement. 

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Core WPI inflation rose to 5 per cent year-on-year, led by higher manufactured prices of metals, chemicals and textiles. 

Inflation in food articles remained relatively stable at 1.98 per cent in April compared to 1.90 per cent in March. However, inflation in non-food articles rose to 12.18 per cent from 11.5 per cent in the previous month. 

Manufactured products inflation also increased to 4.62 per cent in April from 3.39 per cent in March, reflecting the broader pass-through of rising input costs across industries. 

Within the fuel and power basket, LPG inflation surged to 10.92 per cent in April against a contraction of 1.54 per cent in March. Petrol inflation rose sharply to 32.40 per cent from 2.50 per cent, while inflation in high-speed diesel climbed to 25.19 per cent from 3.26 per cent. 

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Despite a nearly 50 per cent spike in global crude oil prices, the government has so far kept retail prices of petrol, diesel and household LPG unchanged to cushion consumers from the direct impact of higher energy costs. However, prices of commercial LPG cylinders have been increased. 

The cushioning effect was visible in April retail inflation data, with consumer price inflation remaining relatively moderate at 3.48 per cent.