India’s wholesale price inflation moderated marginally in July 2026, with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rate easing to 9.78 per cent from 9.87 per cent in June. The latest provisional figures released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, however, showed that the moderation was uneven, with food inflation and several manufacturing segments continuing to record price pressures. The overall WPI stood at 110.0 in July, compared with 110.2 in the previous month. While lower fuel and power inflation helped contain the headline number, inflation across primary articles and manufactured products moved higher during the month.
Inflation in primary articles accelerated to 8.52 per cent in July, compared with 7 per cent in June. Within this category, non-food articles saw a particularly sharp increase, with inflation climbing to 17.66 per cent from 11.07 per cent.
Minerals inflation also strengthened considerably, rising to 13.28 per cent in July from 9.45 per cent in June. Food articles, on the other hand, recorded inflation of 5.44 per cent, slightly lower than the 5.49 per cent recorded in June.
Manufactured products also experienced higher price pressures. Inflation in the segment rose to 8.29 per cent from 7.48 per cent in June.
The ministry identified mineral oils, food articles, basic metals, food products, non-food articles and chemicals as some of the major contributors to wholesale inflation during July.
Food Inflation Moves Higher
The WPI Food Index, which combines food articles under primary articles with manufactured food products, recorded inflation of 6.65 per cent in July, up from 6.14 per cent in June.
Within manufactured products, inflation in food products increased substantially to 8.89 per cent, compared with 7.2 per cent in June. The movement indicates that food-related price pressures remained an important component of wholesale inflation despite the slight easing in the overall WPI reading.
The divergence between the headline WPI figure and food-related inflation highlights the mixed price trends across different parts of the economy.
Fuel And Power Inflation Drops Sharply
One of the biggest factors behind the moderation in overall WPI inflation was the fuel and power segment. Inflation in this category fell to 20.05 per cent in July, from 27.41 per cent in June.
Mineral oils inflation declined to 32.4 per cent, compared with 46.48 per cent a month earlier. Crude petroleum and natural gas inflation also eased, falling to 26.99 per cent from 34.75 per cent.
Electricity prices showed a different trend. Electricity inflation turned positive at 1.09 per cent in July, compared with a contraction of 0.76 per cent in June.
Several manufacturing segments recorded stronger inflation during July. Textiles inflation increased to 12.8 per cent, up from 10.85 per cent in June.
Basic metals also saw a marginal increase, with inflation reaching 12.56 per cent, compared with 12.31 per cent in the preceding month. Inflation in chemicals and chemical products rose to 13.12 per cent from 12.78 per cent.
These increases contributed to the upward movement in manufactured product inflation during the month.
May WPI Inflation Revised Higher
The government also revised its final WPI figures for May 2026. The final index for the month was revised to 110.1, compared with the provisional reading of 109.9.
Following the revision, WPI inflation for May was raised to 9.88 per cent from the earlier provisional estimate of 9.68 per cent.
The final May figure was calculated using a weighted response rate of 98.14 per cent, while the provisional July estimate was based on a weighted response rate of 78.55 per cent.
Meanwhile, the all-India Output Producer Price Index for all commodities remained unchanged at 109.9 in July. The trial Input Producer Price Index for the manufacturing sector stood at 105.9 during the month.
