Spike in fuel, food prices push WPI inflation to 15.08 yy
April WPI fuel inflation up 38.66 yy vs 34.52 in March
Economists see central bank raising key policy rate in June
Small businesses fear threat of closure, job losses

NEW DELHI, May 17 Reuters India39;s wholesale prices accelerated at the fastest pace in at least 17 years as the Ukraine war and a weak rupee pushed up energy and raw material costs, raising risks for businesses that are unable to pass on costs.

While big retailers, food makers and consumer product companies including Hindustan Unilever, Britania and Procter Gamble are passing along higher costs to consumers, small companies are finding it hard to raise prices, industry leaders said.

Annual wholesale price inflation, a proxy for producers39; prices, climbed to 15.08 in April, remaining in doubledigits for the 13th month in a row, and higher than 14.48 forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Wholesale prices are at the highest since at least April 2005, according to Refinitiv data. Some private economists said WPI inflation in April was the highest since 1991, according to an earlier series.

Economists said that with wholesale inflation picking up along with retail inflation at 7.79 in April an eightyear high the central bank was likely to push for aggressive rate hikes to tame prices. Higher rates will pose a drag on economic growth as well, they said.

With WPI inflation remaining solidly in doubledigits, the probability of a repo hike…