Noida, Aug 14 (APAC Media): India’s wholesale price-based inflation eased marginally to 9.78 per cent in July 2026, from 9.87 per cent in June, as a moderation in fuel and power prices offset firmer price pressures across primary articles and manufactured products, according to government data released on Friday.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities stood at 110.0 in July, compared with 110.2 in June, provisional estimates released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed.
The July inflation reading remained elevated despite the marginal moderation and was lower than the 9.95 per cent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. June’s 9.87 per cent reading was the highest recorded under the government’s new WPI series, which uses 2022-23 as the base year.
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The biggest relief came from the fuel and power segment, where inflation fell to 20.05 per cent in July from 27.41 per cent in June. Inflation in mineral oils moderated sharply to 32.4 per cent from 46.48 per cent, while crude petroleum and natural gas inflation declined to 26.99 per cent from 34.75 per cent.
“The manufacturing sector continues to contribute significantly to the rise in wholesale prices, with WPI inflation in the sector standing at 8.29% in July 2026. The increase was primarily driven by a sharp rise in prices of chemicals and chemical products, where inflation stood at 13.12%, amid continued pressure from limited availability of crude oil as a key feedstock,” said Rajeev Juneja, President, PHDCCI.
Electricity prices also showed a turnaround, with inflation at 1.09 per cent in July compared with a contraction of 0.76 per cent in June, the data showed.
However, price pressures strengthened in other components of the wholesale basket. Inflation in primary articles rose to 8.52 per cent in July from 7 per cent in June, while inflation in manufactured products increased to 8.29 per cent from 7.48 per cent.
Food prices also remained a source of pressure. Inflation based on the WPI Food Index, which combines food articles from the primary articles group with manufactured food products, rose to 6.65 per cent in July from 6.14 per cent in June.
Within primary articles, food inflation remained broadly stable at 5.44 per cent against 5.49 per cent in June.
However, non-food articles inflation climbed sharply to 17.66 per cent from 11.07 per cent, while mineral inflation increased to 13.28 per cent from 9.45 per cent.
Among manufactured products, inflation in food products accelerated to 8.89 per cent from 7.2 per cent. Textile inflation rose to 12.8 per cent from 10.85 per cent, while basic metals inflation edged up to 12.56 per cent from 12.31 per cent. Inflation in chemicals and chemical products stood at 13.12 per cent, compared with 12.78 per cent in June.
The government also revised the final WPI index for May 2026 to 110.1 from the provisional 109.9, raising May inflation to 9.88 per cent from the earlier estimate of 9.68 per cent.
–ENDS–
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