India’s wholesale inflation, based on the All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI), stood at 0.52% (provisional) in August, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday.
This marks a return to positive territory after remaining in the negative for the previous two months and broadly aligns with the marginal uptick seen in retail inflation.
Economists generally consider a modest level of wholesale inflation healthy, as it encourages businesses to step up production.
The Ministry attributed the rise in WPI inflation to an increase in prices of food products, other manufacturing goods, non-food articles, non-metallic mineral products, and transport equipment.
The government releases WPI data on the 14th of every month (or the next working day if the 14th is a holiday) with a two-week lag, based on data collected from institutional sources and selected manufacturing units across the country.
Last week, retail inflation – measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – rose marginally to 2.07% in August 2025, up 46 basis points from July’s 1.55%, which was the lowest reading since June 2017.
Year-on-year food inflation, based on the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), stood at -0.69%, with rural and urban inflation at -0.70% and -0.58%, respectively. The increase in headline inflation was driven largely by higher prices of vegetables, meat and fish, edible oils, and eggs.
Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu were the top five states reporting the highest year-on-year inflation in August.
Despite the uptick, inflation remains comfortably within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) target range of 2-6%.
Economists and industry leaders believe that the latest rise in inflation is temporary and unlikely to derail India’s broader price stability.
(With inputs from ANI)
