India's wholesale inflation has surged to its highest level in nearly four years. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) based inflation stood at 9.87% in June 2026, up from 9.68% in May 2026 and (-)0.4% in June 2025. This is the highest WPI inflation reading since September 2022, when it had touched 10.7%.
Food articles, which account for 24.99% of the Wholesale Price Index basket, also recorded a sharp increase. Wholesale food inflation rose to 6.14% in June, the highest since February 2025 (6.17%). Food inflation has been rising continuously since February 2026. Prior to that, during the eight-month period from June 2025 to January 2026, wholesale food inflation remained in negative territory for six months.
Food products under the WPI are classified into two categories - primary food articles and manufactured food products. Prices of primary food articles increased by 5.49% in June, compared with 3.6% in May. Manufactured food products recorded inflation of 7.2%, while beverages registered 1.44% inflation, compared with 6.14% and 1.64%, respectively, in May.
Among other major categories, fuel and power prices rose 27.41% in June. Within this segment, crude petroleum and natural gas prices jumped 34.75%. Inflation was also significant in textiles (10.85%), chemicals (12.78%), basic metals (12.31%), and electrical equipment (11.03%).
According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, wholesale inflation averaged 9.37% during the April-June quarter of 2026-27, compared with 0% in the corresponding period last year and 1.72% in April-June 2024.
The Food Index increased 4.67% during the quarter, driven by a 3.87% rise in primary food articles and a 5.95% increase in manufactured food products. Beverage prices also increased by 1.16% during the quarter.