India's wholesale inflation cools, but should you worry? What July data shows

India’s wholesale price inflation (WPI) eased slightly to 9.78 per cent in July 2026, compared with 9.87 per cent in June, even as inflation in manufactured products and primary articles increased during the month.

The WPI index fell to 110.0 in July from 110.2 in June, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday and cited by Financial Express.

“Across groups, Mineral Oils (containing Petroleum Products), Food Article,Manufacture of Basic Metals, Non-Food Articles, Manufacture of Food Products,and Manufacture of Chemicals and Chemical Products have been major drivers of WPI inflation in July 2026,” Ministry of Commerce and Industry said on Friday.

Fuel inflation falls sharply

Inflation in the fuel and power segment dropped to 20.05 per cent in July from 27.41 per cent in June. Mineral oil inflation also declined to 32.4 per cent from 46.48 per cent.

Inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas fell to 26.99 per cent in July from 34.75 per cent in the previous month.

However, prices of primary articles moved higher. Inflation in the segment rose to 8.52 per cent from 7 per cent in June, while non-food articles saw a sharper increase to 17.66 per cent from 11.07 per cent.

Manufacturing inflation rises

Inflation in manufactured products increased to 8.29 per cent in July, up from 7.48 per cent in June.

Within the segment, chemical products recorded inflation of 13.12 per cent, while basic metals saw inflation of 12.56 per cent. Textile prices rose 12.8 per cent and inflation in electrical equipment stood at 12.34 per cent.

Manufacturing inflation for food products also increased to 8.89 per cent from 7.2 per cent. Motor vehicle manufacturing inflation remained comparatively lower at 1.8 per cent.

Food inflation edges higher

The WPI Food Index, which carries a weight of nearly 25 per cent in the wholesale price index, recorded inflation of 6.65 per cent in July, compared with 6.14 per cent in June.

Food article inflation, however, eased marginally to 5.44 per cent from 5.49 per cent. The rise in the overall Food Index was partly driven by higher inflation in manufactured food products.

FY27 WPI remains elevated

Wholesale inflation remained high during the first four months of FY27, with cumulative WPI inflation at 9.47 per cent for April-July, compared with -0.2 per cent during the same period of FY26.

Fuel and power recorded the highest cumulative inflation at 25.8 per cent during the period.

The government also revised May’s WPI inflation to 9.88 per cent from 9.68 per cent, after revising the final WPI index to 110.1 from 109.9.