Wholesale inflation rate falls to 2.05% in March due to cheaper food items, lowest in four months

The wholesale price-based inflation rate fell to 2.05% in March, whereas it was 2.38% in February. This was confirmed in the government data released on Tuesday. According to the data, India's wholesale inflation fell to a four-month low in March due to a slow increase in food prices. However, Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation has increased on an annual basis. Wholesale inflation was 0.26% in March 2024.

The Ministry of Industry said in a statement, "The positive rate of inflation in March 2025 is mainly due to the increase in prices of food products, other manufacturing, food articles, electricity and textile manufacturing, etc."

According to the Wholesale Price Index data, food inflation declined from 3.38% in February to 1.57% in March. During this period, vegetable prices fell sharply. Deflation in vegetables stood at 15.88% this month compared to 5.80% in February.

However, wholesale inflation of manufactured products increased to 3.07% in March, while it was 2.86% in February. Fuel and electricity also saw an increase and the inflation rate in March was 0.20%, while deflation was 0.71% in February.