Food and fuel have been identified as the key factors responsible for the rise in wholesale inflation to a 13-month high of 1.26% in April, compared to 0.53% in the previous month. This information was released by the data on Tuesday. According to Aditi Nayar, the chief economist at ICRA, the year-on-year WPI (Wholesale Price Index) inflation has reached 1.3% in April 2024, compared to the -0.8% in April 2023. The inflation has been driven by fuel and power, WPI-food, and core-WPI groups. Sequentially, the wholesale price index rose 0.8% in April, with food prices increasing by 2.7% and manufactured products up by 0.5%. Inflation in food articles rose 7.74% in April compared to the previous month, with rice, pulses, and vegetables experiencing double-digit inflation. The rising prices of crude oil have contributed to the return of inflation in the fuel and power category after 11 months. Onions and potatoes have seen a significant rise in prices, while the deflation in manufactured products has narrowed to 0.4% compared to the previous month. Economists predict that the base effect and geopolitical uncertainties are likely to keep wholesale inflation higher in the coming months. They also expect consumer inflation to climb above 5% in May. However, experts indicate that higher food inflation is unlikely to change the central bank’s stance in its upcoming June meeting, and the Reserve Bank of India will likely hold the policy rate at 6.5%.