India's wholesale inflation, measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), more than doubled to a 42-month high of 8.3 percent in April 2026, up sharply from 3.9 percent in March 2026, according to data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. The principal driver was a steep surge in the Fuel and Power group, where inflation soared to 24.71 percent in April from just 1.05 percent in the previous month, on the back of a spike in crude petroleum and product prices amid the West Asia crisis and a weaker rupee against the US dollar. The Indian basket of crude oil averaged around 115 US dollars per barrel in April 2026. In contrast, retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) compiled by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, remained relatively moderate, inching up to 3.48 percent in April 2026 from 3.4 percent in March, marking the fastest retail inflation in a year. Food inflation under CPI rose to 4.2 percent from 3.87 percent. The divergence between the two indices reflects the fact that the WPI gives a much higher weight to fuel and manufactured products, which are more directly exposed to global commodity price shocks, while the CPI carries a larger weight for food and services. The widening gap raises concerns about cost-push pressures eventually being passed through to consumers, posing a policy challenge for the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee, which has held the repo rate at 5.25 percent with a neutral stance.