India’s March wholesale inflation eases to 30-month low on easing input prices

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s annual wholesale-price based inflation (WPI) eased to the lowest in nearly 30 months, as input prices continued to moderate, government data showed on Monday.

WPI in March was 1.34% year-on-year, lower than 3.85% in the previous month and a Reuters poll of 1.87%.

In March, the food index rose 2.32% year-on-year compared with 2.76% in February, while fuel and power rose 8.96%, slowing from the 14.82% rate.

WPI on manufactured products fell 0.28%, compared with a fall of 0.14% in the previous month.

“Input costs have fallen across the world. High base effect is also showing its impact,” said Emkay Global’s economist Madhavi Arora.

Inflation pressures in the South Asian country have begun to show signs of easing in the last few months.

Last week government data showed India’s annual retail inflation for March rose at the slowest pace in nearly 15 months and was below the central bank’s upper tolerance level for the first time this year.

Earlier this month, Reserve Bank of India surprised markets by holding its key repo rate steady after six consecutive hikes, saying the tightening over the past 12 months would start to weigh on the future inflation trajectory.

Forecast of normal monsoon rains in 2023 has helped ease some concern of another bout of price increases in Asia’s third largest economy.

(Reporting by Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Kim Coghill and Shri Navaratnam)