WPI inflation rises to 9.92% in Aug on costlier food, fuel, manufactured items
Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation rose to 9.92% year-on-year in August 2026, up from 9.78% in July 2026.
The reading is the second-highest recorded so far under the revised WPI series, which now uses 2022-23 as its base year.
All three major sub-groups accelerated: food inflation rose to 7.05% (from 6.65%), manufactured products inflation touched a series-high 8.37% (from 8.29%), and fuel and power inflation surged to 22.93% (from 20.05%).
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry attributed the rise chiefly to mineral oils (petroleum products), food articles, basic metals, non-food articles, and chemicals.
Official data was released by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The New WPI Series: Base Year Revised from 2011-12 to 2022-23
The Wholesale Price Index measures average price changes of goods at the first point of bulk (wholesale) sale, before they reach retail consumers. The Cabinet approved revising the WPI base year from 2011-12 to 2022-23 in 2026, with the revised series' first official release covering May 2026 data (published in June 2026); parallel Producer Price Indices (PPI) were introduced alongside it, aligned with IMF-recommended global best practice.
Key Details
- Compiling authority: Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry — released monthly.
- The revised series widened the item basket from 697 to 957 items, with the expansion led by Manufactured Products (+42%, now 803 items) and new inclusions such as solar, wind, and nuclear electricity data.
- Weighting methodology shifted from Net Traded Value to Gross Value of Output (GVO), and Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas were moved out of the "Primary Articles" group into the "Fuel and Power" group for a more coherent structure.
- WPI (old series) will continue to be released in parallel with the new PPI for five years before being discontinued, giving users time to transition.
August 2026's 9.92% print is described as the "second highest" specifically within this new 2022-23 base series — a reminder that WPI readings before and after a base revision are not directly comparable, since weights, coverage, and even group classification (e.g., where crude petroleum sits) have changed.
WPI vs CPI — Why WPI Has No Statutory Inflation Target
WPI and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measure different stages of the price chain: WPI captures wholesale/producer-level prices (excluding services and indirect taxes), while CPI captures retail prices actually paid by consumers (including services and taxes). Only CPI carries a statutory inflation-targeting mandate in India.
A near-10% WPI print does not by itself breach any legal inflation target, but sustained wholesale-level pressure — especially the sharp 22.93% fuel and power inflation — is closely watched by the MPC as an early signal of possible retail (CPI) inflation risk ahead of its next policy review.
Fuel and Power Inflation as the Primary Driver
Within WPI, the Fuel and Power group captures coal, mineral oils (crude petroleum and petroleum products), electricity, and — under the new series — renewable and nuclear power data. Because India imports the large majority of its crude oil requirement, global crude price swings transmit into this sub-index with minimal lag.
Key Details
- In the new 2022-23 base series, Fuel and Power carries a weight of approximately 14.1% in the overall WPI.
- Mineral oils track global crude benchmarks (Brent/WTI), adjusted for the rupee-dollar exchange rate and domestic taxation, and were explicitly flagged by the Commerce Ministry as a major driver of the August print.
- Fuel and power inflation (22.93%) was by far the highest-inflating sub-group in August 2026, well above food (7.05%) and manufactured products (8.37%).
The sharp acceleration in fuel and power inflation — nearly triple the headline WPI rate — indicates that global crude price movements were the single largest contributor to the August 2026 wholesale inflation spike.
- WPI inflation, August 2026: 9.92% year-on-year (up from 9.78% in July 2026) — second-highest reading in the new 2022-23 base series
- Food inflation (WPI): 7.05% (from 6.65% in July)
- Manufactured products inflation (WPI): 8.37%, a series-high (from 8.29% in July)
- Fuel and power inflation (WPI): 22.93% (from 20.05% in July)
- WPI base year: revised from 2011-12 to 2022-23; item basket expanded from 697 to 957 items
- Fuel and Power group weight in new series: approximately 14.1%
- Compiling body: Office of the Economic Adviser, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
- RBI's statutory inflation target (CPI-based, Section 45-ZA, RBI Act 1934): 4%, tolerance band 2%-6%