India WPI Inflation Rises to 0.52%

India’s wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation turned positive in August 2025, rising to 0.52% year-on-year. This is a significant rebound from -0.58% in August 2024, signaling an upward trend in wholesale prices after months of subdued inflation. According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce, the rise has been driven by increased prices of food products, mineral oils, crude petroleum, natural gas, and manufactured basic metals.

For economic enthusiasts and students, understanding India's WPI inflation trends is crucial as it provides insights into the country’s wholesale price movements.

Overview of India WPI Inflation Trends

• The current WPI inflation in India shows a positive growth trend.

• Market expectations had predicted 0.30%, indicating the actual rise was slightly higher than expected.

• This highlights the importance of tracking the Wholesale Price Index trend in India to understand broader economic patterns.

Factors Contributing to the Rise in WPI

Understanding the components of India's WPI inflation in August 2025 helps analyze economic movements:

1. Food Products

• Food inflation rose to 0.21% in August from -2.15% in July, primarily due to higher prices in vegetables, pulses, and edible oils.

• This reflects the impact of food and fuel prices on India's WPI inflation.

2. Mineral Oils and Crude Petroleum

• Wholesale inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas stood at -9.87%, compared to 1.77% in August last year.

• Despite the negative trend in this segment, other sectors offset the decline, resulting in overall positive India WPI inflation.

3. Manufactured Products

• Prices of manufactured basic metals and other products increased by 2.55%, reversing the 2.05% fall in the previous month.

• This indicates the recovery of industrial sectors, impacting WPI India.

4. Other Categories

• Positive contributions were also seen from non-food articles, non-metallic mineral products, and transport equipment.

Performance of Key Segments

• Primary Articles: Inflation rose to -2.10% from -4.95% in July.

• Fuel and Power: Prices declined by -3.17% in August, compared to -2.43% in July.

• Retail Inflation: India’s retail inflation edged up to 2.07% in August from 1.55% in July, showing alignment with India's WPI inflation trends.

Students and analysts should note the difference between WPI and CPI inflation in India, as WPI reflects wholesale-level price changes, while CPI captures consumer-level price changes.

Why India's WPI Inflation Turned Positive

• Recovery in manufactured products and food segments played a major role.

• Rising global crude oil and mineral oil prices influenced inflation, despite some decline in domestic fuel prices.

• Analysts consider this a sign of stabilizing economic activity in India.

Key Takeaways

1. India's WPI inflation rate today serves as a benchmark for understanding wholesale price movement.

2. Tracking WPI vs CPI inflation in India helps in analyzing consumer price trends versus wholesale prices.

3. Understanding factors affecting India’s WPI inflation in 2025 is important for economic analysis.

4. Monitoring WPI data can provide insights into future monetary policy decisions by the RBI.

Final Thoughts

India’s wholesale price index (WPI) inflation turned positive in August 2025, rising to 0.52% after being in the negative zone at -0.58% last year. This shift highlights a recovery in wholesale prices, mainly driven by costlier food products, mineral oils, crude petroleum, natural gas, and manufactured metals.

Food inflation alone climbed to 0.21%, reversing a steep fall from July, while manufactured products also showed a strong rebound at 2.55% growth. On the other hand, fuel and power continued to decline, though at a slower pace.

The difference between WPI and CPI inflation in India is important to note — while WPI tracks wholesale prices, retail inflation (CPI) rose to 2.07% in August, reflecting consumer-level price pressures.