New Delhi, May 17 (IANS): India's annual rate of inflation based on wholesale prices sequentially rose to 10.49 per cent in April from a rise of 7.39 per cent in March.

Significantly, this is the highest rate of WPI inlation in the last 6-months. The monthly rate of inflation, based on month over month movement of WPI index, in April 2021 stood at 1.86 per cent as compared to March 2021.

On a year-on-year basis, the inflation rate last month was higher. The WPI had come in about (-) 1.57 per cent in April of 2020.

"In April, 2021 (over April, 2020), the annual rate of inflation (YoY), based on monthly WPI, stood at 10.49 per cent (Provisional)," the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement on WPI.

"The annual rate of inflation in April 2021 is high primarily because of rise in prices of crude petroleum, mineral oils viz petrol, diesel etc, and manufactured products as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year."

On segment wises YoY basis, prices of primary articles, which constitute 22.62 per cent of the WPI's total weightage, inflated by 10.16 per cent last month from 6.40 per cent in March 2021.

Besides, WPI food index rose to 7.58 per cent from 5.28 per cent reported for March.

The prices of manufactured items remained at elevated levels with a rise of 9.01 per cent from 7.34 per cent.

On the same note, the prices of fuel and power with a weightage of 13.15 per cent rose 20.94 per cent from 10.25 per cent.