Guwahati: Inflation in wholesale prices (WPI) hit 15.1% in April, the highest in the current data series, from 14.5% in March, driven largely by a spike in fuel prices and food items, especially perishables like fruits, vegetables and milk.

In November 2021, the previous high inflation rate recorded in the current series of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with the base year of 2011-12 was 14.9 percent. There was no base effect at work, as wholesale price inflation was 10.74 percent in April of last year.

 Producers are projected to pass on growing prices to consumers, pushing retail inflation over the 95-month high of 7.8 percent reported in April.

In April, fuel and electricity inflation reached 38.66 percent, up from 34.5 percent in March, while manufactured goods inflation increased from 10.7 percent to 10.85 percent, and food price inflation increased from 8.7 percent to 8.9 percent. The only group to have a decrease in inflation rate was primary items, which fell from 15.54 percent in March to 15.45 percent in April.

Within fuel and electricity, LPG inflation was 38.48 percent, while petrol and diesel saw price increases of 60.6 percent and 66.1 percent, respectively.

Among food goods, potato inflation was 19.8 percent, while vegetable inflation was 23.2 percent. Fruit prices increased by 10.9 percent, slightly higher than the 10.6 percent recorded in March, while wheat prices increased by 10.7 percent, down from 14.04 percent in March.

According to ICRA chief economist Aditi Nayar, the heatwave pushed up costs of perishables like as fruits, vegetables, and milk, which, along with a surge in tea prices, pushed up primary food inflation. She said that core-WPI inflation, which excludes food and fuel, touched a four-month high of 11.1 percent in April as manufacturers were compelled to pass on input price pressures.

Demand slowdowns in China might help counterbalance the rupee's loss and push wholesale price inflation below 15% in May, but it would still be 'uncomfortably excessive,' according to ICRA.

Oil price increases are driving inflation in India, according to the IMF, and monetary tightening is required.

The government ascribed the high rate of inflation in April 2022 to "increases in the cost of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum & natural gas, food articles, non-food articles, food products, and chemicals & chemical products."

The inflation trend from April, when retail inflation also reached an eight-year high of 7.8 percent, is anticipated to prompt the central bank to tighten monetary policy further with more interest rate rises in June. However, experts are skeptical that this will significantly slow price increases.

"With the source of inflation being global supply difficulties rather than exuberant domestic demand, we retain our view that overtightening would douse the embryonic recovery without having a comparable impact on the roots of inflationary pressures," Ms. Nayar said.

According to an SBI research released on Monday, over three-fifths of the rise in India's retail inflation since February might be attributed to the Ukraine-Russia crisis, implying that interest rate rises by the central bank may not be able to'meaningfully' lower prices.