Capped by petroleum and food charges, India's wholesale price index (WPI) sustained a cooling trend in March, perhaps opening the door for additional easing by central bankers in Mumbai.

India's WPI rose 2.05% on year in March, and declined 0.19% from February, reported the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (MCI) on Tuesday.

The WPI had risen 2.38% in February on year, and declined 0.13% from January.

Cooling prices, India's WPI for petroleum fell 11.50% on year in March, while the wholesale food index rose 4.66% on year, a relatively modest gain in a category that has recently experienced inflation.

In general, India's WPI gauges prices at the wholesale level, between businesses and distributors that buy goods in bulk from producers or other wholesalers.

The WPI is distinct from the consumer price index (CPI), which measures prices at retail faced by shoppers.

The WPI is considered one leading indicator of pending changes in the CPI, as retailers try to recoup costs or pass on savings to consumers.

India's WPI crested at an on-year gain of 16.63% in May of 2022, in the pandemic era, but softened through most of 2023 and 2024.

Due in part to easing inflation, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key interest rate by 0.25% to 6% at its recent April meeting, the second and equal-sized cut in as many policy sessions.

The RBI has a target inflation rate of 4% on the nation's CPI, plus or minus 2%.

The RBI would appear to have room to cut again; India's CPI logged at 3.62% in February, down from a revised 4.26% on-year gain in January.

The RBI next meets from June 5 through June 7, to once more ponder monetary policy.