India’s wholesale inflation, measured by the wholesale price index (WPI), jumped to 3.88% year-on-year in March 2026 — the fastest pace in over three years — as rising global commodity costs amid tensions in West Asia pushed up fuel, food and factory-gate prices. Data released on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, showed the March WPI figure rose sharply from 2.13% in February and exceeded economists’ expectations of about 3.04%.
On a month-on-month basis, WPI increased 1.64% in March, versus 0.38% in February, signalling a marked build-up in input cost pressures. A breakdown of the data showed primary articles inflation climbed to 6.36%, driven largely by surging crude petroleum and natural gas prices. Inflation in manufactured products rose to 3.39% from 2.92% in February, indicating greater pass-through of higher input costs at the factory gate. Fuel and power inflation turned positive at 1.05%, reversing a 3.78% contraction in February. Wholesale food inflation held at 1.85% in March, while vegetable prices rose 1.45% year-on-year, down from February’s 4.73% increase.
“An increase of 100–150 basis points in input costs can lead to a decline of 1.5–3 percentage points in EBITDA margins for manufacturers in sectors such as auto parts, engineering goods and MSMEs,” said Raghunandan Saraf, founder and CEO of Saraf Furniture. (EBITDA is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation and reflects core operating profit.) He warned that sustained cost pressure could force firms to raise selling prices, potentially triggering a cost-push inflation cycle that strains domestic supply chains and raises operating expenses.
“Even a 2–3 per cent increase in production costs can erode pricing advantages for Indian exporters,” said Ridhima Kansal, director at Rosemoore, adding that exporters may be forced to absorb costs or pivot to higher-value products. She cautioned sustained inflation could shave 1–2 percentage points off margins in export-oriented sectors unless companies boost cost efficiency and strengthen supply chains.
The WPI uptick comes amid a recent firming in retail inflation, reinforcing fears that elevated energy prices tied to the prolonged West Asia conflict could gradually transmit into broader price levels. With India heavily dependent on crude imports, persistent volatility in global energy markets remains a major upside risk to inflation and to margins across manufacturing and export sectors.
Original Source: https://www.firstpost.com/business/india-wpi-inflation-march-2026-3-88pc-fuel-primary-articles-price-rise-14000641.html
Category: India
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Publish Date: 2026-04-15 13:11:00
