Overview
- Wholesale price inflation rose to 8.3% in April 2026 after March’s 3.9% reading, the highest pace in 42 months.
- Fuel and power inflation jumped to 24.7% in April, with crude petroleum up about 88% and aviation turbine fuel more than doubling year on year.
- CRISIL said the surge has not yet shown up in retail prices, with CPI at about 3.5% in April, and it expects CPI to average roughly 5.1% this fiscal.
- WPI tracks producer costs and often feeds into consumer prices with a lag of about 6–8 weeks, which can first squeeze company margins in energy‑intensive sectors like chemicals, plastics and metals.
- India’s oil reliance is a key risk, as the country imports roughly 85% of its crude and holds only about 10 days of strategic reserves, prompting calls to build larger buffers and consider alternative supplies such as Russian barrels.