New Delhi, April 18 : India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation surged to 14.55% in March, 2022 as compared to 7.89% in the corresponding month of the previous year, showed the data released by Commerce and Industry Ministry on Monday. The wholesale inflation in January and February this year was 13.68% and 13.11% respectively. “The high rate of inflation in March, 2022 is primarily due to rise in prices of crude petroleum and natural gas, mineral oils, basic metals, etc owing to disruption in global supply chain caused by Russia-Ukraine conflict,” said the official release on the key number keenly watched by policymakers and industry. The wholesale inflation has remained in double-digit for almost a year now. Among the various commodity groups, fuel and power segment spiked to 34.52 per cent in March from 31.50% in February. Primary articles segment rose 15.54% in the previous month compared to 13.39% in February. Manufactured items category witnessed 10.71% rise year-on-year in the month of March. Commenting on WPI data, ICRA Chief Economist Aditi Nayar said that the jump in crude oil prices was the biggest contributor to the rise in the WPI inflation in March 2022 relative to the previous month, followed by fuels and core items. “We expect the WPI inflation to remain in the range of 13.5-15% in the current month, partly depending on where crude oil prices settle in the rest of April 2022 and how much petrol and diesel prices are revised further,” she said. NK