WPI Turns Firmer in December as Manufacturing and Primary Prices Climb

Wholesale inflation is stirring again. After months of muted price pressures, rising costs across manufacturing, primary goods and power pushed India’s wholesale inflation into positive territory in December 2025.

India’s wholesale inflation edged higher in December 2025, with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) rising to 0.83% year-on-year, reflecting a broad-based increase in manufacturing, primary articles and fuel costs.

According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, wholesale prices rose 0.71% month-on-month compared with November, signalling growing cost pressures as the year closed.

Primary articles, which carry a 22.62% weight in the WPI basket, recorded a 1.09% rise in December. Prices of non-food articles jumped 2.76%, while minerals rose 1.62% and food articles increased 0.88%. In contrast, crude petroleum and natural gas prices declined by 0.45%, offering limited relief.

The fuel and power group, accounting for 13.15% of the index, climbed 1.23%, driven largely by a sharp 4.46% rise in electricity prices. Coal prices increased 0.66%, while mineral oils edged up 0.07%, adding to overall wholesale cost pressures.

Manufactured products, the largest component of the WPI with a 64.23% weight, saw their index rise 0.41% in December. Of the 22 manufacturing sub-groups, 13 recorded price increases, led by other manufacturing, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, textiles, and non-metallic mineral products.

Food prices showed signs of stabilisation. The WPI Food Index increased marginally from 195.0 in November to 196.0 in December, while year-on-year food inflation moved from -2.60% in November to 0% in December, indicating a pause in deflationary trends at the wholesale level.

Taken together, the data points to a gradual firming of wholesale prices, driven by manufacturing inputs and energy costs, even as food inflation steadies. The next WPI reading for January 2026 is scheduled to be released on February 16, 2026.

(ANI and yMedia are content partners for this story)