India, May 15 -- Wholesale price inflation shot up to a 42-month high of 8.3 per cent on the back of a spike in energy prices that followed the disruptions caused by the West Asia conflict.

Wholesale price index (WPI) inflation was 3.88 per cent in March, while it was 0.85 per cent in April last year. According to global brokerage Barclays, the sequential increase in WPI inflation was the highest on record in the series.

A sharp increase in global oil prices drove the surge in the headline rate. Core WPI inflation rose to 5 per cent year-on-year, led by higher manufactured prices of metals, chemicals and textiles.

WPI inflation in fuel and power jumped to a 42-month high of 24.71 per cent in April, from 1.05 per cent in March. In crude...