Overview
- India’s wholesale price index, reported Wednesday by the government, rose to 3.88% year over year in March with a 1.64% monthly jump, the highest pace in more than three years.
- Crude petroleum in India spiked about 51.6% from a year earlier as fuel and power inflation turned positive, pointing to sharper input costs for factories even as the food index held near 1.85%.
- The U.S. producer price index, released Tuesday, increased 0.5% from February and about 4% from a year earlier, with energy prices up 8.5% and gasoline a major driver of the monthly gain.
- India cut petrol and diesel excise by Rs 10 per litre on March 26 and the Reserve Bank of India kept rates on hold, while economists warn that higher wholesale costs could pass through to retail prices in coming months.
- Analysts say wholesale gauges react fastest to commodity shocks from the West Asia conflict and shipping strains, and some expect further wholesale inflation in April as these costs filter through supply chains.