India’s wholesale inflation eases marginally to 9.78% in July; food inflation rises
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India’s wholesale price inflation (WPI) eased marginally to 9.78% in July 2026 from 9.87% in June, even as food inflation accelerated, according to government data released on Friday.
Inflation in primary articles rose sharply to 8.52% in July from 7% in June. Fuel and power inflation, however, moderated to 20.05% from 27.41% while inflation in manufactured products increased to 8.29% from 7.48%.
Within the manufactured products segment, inflation in food products rose to 8.89% in July from 7.2% in June. Textile inflation increased to 12.8% from 10.85%, while inflation in the manufacture of basic metals edged up to 12.56% from 12.31%. Inflation in chemicals and chemical products also rose, reaching 13.12% in July from 12.78% in the previous month.
The WPI indices for primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products stood at 117.2, 105.4, and 108.4, respectively, in July, compared with 116.1, 111.1 and 107.8 in June.
Among the major components, mineral oils containing petroleum products, food articles, manufacture of basic metals, non-food articles, manufacture of food products, and manufacture of chemicals and chemical products were the key drivers of wholesale price inflation in July.
Food inflation rises
The WPI Food Index, which comprises food articles under the Primary Articles group and manufactured food products, recorded year-on-year inflation of 6.65% in July, up from 6.14% in June.
The rise in food inflation came even as the overall WPI rate moderated marginally during the month.
May WPI inflation revised upwards
The government also revised the final WPI index for May 2026 to 110.1 from the provisional estimate of 109.9. As a result, WPI inflation for May was revised upwards to 9.88% from the earlier provisional estimate of 9.68%.
Rahul Agrawal, Principal Economist, ICRA Ltd, "The WPI inflation eased marginally to 9.8% in July 2026 from 9.9% in June 2026 and slightly undershot our estimate (+10.0%) for the month. The moderation was not broad-based and was entirely led by the fuel and power group whereas all the other groups witnessed a hardening in their inflation prints in July 2026 vis-à-vis June 2026. Looking ahead, we anticipate a larger easing in the WPI inflation to below 9.5% in August 2026, after peaking at 9.9% each during May-June 2026. Nevertheless, prints are likely to remain elevated through much of the year, with an average WPI inflation forecast of around 8.5% for FY2027, feeding into a high nominal GDP growth figure as well."
Retail inflation at 19-month high
Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation rose to a 19-month high of 4.45% in July 2026, compared with 4.38% in June, as food prices remained elevated, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday.
The July reading, based on the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with 2024 as the base year, marked the second consecutive month of acceleration in headline retail inflation.
Rural inflation rose to 4.84% in July from 4.74% in June, while urban inflation increased to 3.96% from 3.93% during the same period.