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Informist, Monday, Feb. 16, 2026

 

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--India Jan WPI inflation 1.81% 
--India Jan WPI inflation 1.81% vs 0.83?c 
--Informist Poll estimated India Jan WPI inflation at 1.4% 
--India Jan WPI food inflation 1.41% vs 0.00?c 
--India Jan WPI primary articles inflation 2.21% vs 0.21?c 
--India Jan WPI fuel and power inflation -4.01% vs -2.31?c 
--India Jan WPI manufactured products inflation 2.86% vs 1.82?c 
--India Jan WPI all commodities index up 0.5% on month 
--India Jan WPI food index down 0.9% on month 
--India Jan WPI primary articles index down 0.2% on month 
--India Jan WPI fuel and power group index down 1.6% on month 
--India Jan WPI manufactured products index up 1.3% on month 
--India Jan WPI vegetable index down 14.6% on month 
--India Jan WPI cereals index up 0.2% on month 
--India Jan WPI edible oils index up 1.0% on month 
--India Jan WPI basic metals index up 5.8% on month 
--India Nov WPI inflation revised to -0.13% vs -0.32% provisional 
--India Jan WPI core inflation 3.2% vs 2.0?c 
--India Jan WPI inflation of 1.81% highest in 10 months

 

MUMBAI – India's annual inflation rate based on WPI rose to a 10-month high of 1.81% in January because of an unfavourable base and higher prices of food items and manufactured products, data released by the commerce ministry Monday showed.

 

WPI inflation in January was higher than expected. According to an Informist poll, WPI inflation was seen rising to 1.4%. WPI inflation was 0.83% in December and 2.51% in January 2025. The November print was revised higher to (-)0.13% from (-)0.32% originally.

 

Wholesale food prices rose year-on-year for the first time in five months in January. WPI food inflation rose to an eight-month high of 1.41% in January from 0.0% in December. Manufactured products inflation rose to a 10-month high of 2.86% in January from 1.82% in the previous month.

 

Fuel and power remained in deflation for the tenth consecutive month. WPI fuel and power index inflation fell to (-)4.01% last month from (-)2.31% in December.

 

Sequentially, the all commodities index of the WPI was up 0.5% in January, driven by manufactured products, which rose 1.3% from December. WPI food index fell 0.9% on month in January, pulled down by a near 15?cline in wholesale prices of vegetables during the month.

 

WPI core inflation--or inflation excluding food and fuel items--rose to an over three-year high of 3.2% in January from 2.0% in December. The last time WPI core inflation was higher than 3.2% was in October 2022, at 4.6%. Core inflation was driven higher by manufactured products, which rose on the back of higher metal and textile prices. 

 

"The hardening in global commodity prices and depreciation in the USD/INR pair (dollar/rupee) over the past few months is likely to have put upward pressure on the core index, which rose by 1.4% on a sequential basis in January 2026, the sharpest uptick in 45 months," Rahul Agrawal, senior economist and rating agency ICRA, said in a note. 

 

"Going forward, food inflation is set to harden further as the effect of an unfavourable base intensifies," Agrawal said. "Besides, global commodity prices have continued to rise in February 2026, which along with the lagged impact of the depreciation pressure in the USD/INR pair over the last few months is likely to continue to weigh on the landed cost of imports."

 

ICRA expects WPI inflation to rise to around 2.0-2.2% in February.

 

The following table details the sequential and annual increase in the main components of the WPI:

 

	Weight (%)	January (index)	Month-on-month change	Year-on-year change
				January	December
ALL COMMODITIES	100.00	157.8	0.5%	1.81%	0.83%
PRIMARY ARTICLES	22.62	193.9	(-)0.2%	2.21%	0.21%
Food articles	15.26	202.9	(-)1.8%	1.55%	(-)0.43%
Cereals	2.82	209.3	0.2%	(-)1.41%	(-)1.18%
Pulses	0.64	193.1	0.1%	(-)11.05%	(-)13.88%
Vegetables	1.87	237.7	(-)14.6%	6.78%	(-)3.50%
Potato	0.28	178.9	(-)20.7%	(-)38.84%	(-)38.21%
Onion	0.16	210.8	11.5%	(-)33.42%	(-)54.40%
Tomato	0.28	394.7	(-)15.3%	91.32%	34.56%
Fruits	1.60	200.2	1.6%	1.78%	1.97%
Milk	4.44	191.7	0.1%	2.51%	3.23%
Eggs, meat, and fish	2.40	181.1	2.5%	3.66%	1.14%
Non-food articles	4.12	180.2	5.3%	7.58%	2.95%
Oil seeds	1.12	218.7	4.2%	19.25%	14.82%
Minerals	0.83	256.2	(-)0.5%	12.76%	11.86%
Crude petroleum	1.95	115.4	7.3%	(-)11.23%	(-)10.04%
FUEL and POWER	13.15	145.9	(-)1.6%	(-)4.01%	(-)2.31%
Coal	2.14	138.0	0.7%	1.77%	1.03%
Liquefied petroleum gas	0.64	114.2	6.6%	(-)7.68%	(-)14.04%
Petrol	1.60	143.9	(-)1.7%	(-)4.58%	(-)1.88%
High speed diesel	3.10	158.5	(-)1.7%	(-)4.29%	(-)2.07%
Electricity	3.06	150.2	(-)2.9%	(-)3.59%	(-)1.78%
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS	64.23	147.5	1.3%	2.86%	1.82%
Food products	9.12	179.6	0.7%	1.18%	0.90%
Edible oils	2.64	188.5	1.0%	0.53%	0.54%
Textiles	4.88	140.4	0.9%	2.48%	1.68%
Chemical, chemical products	6.47	137.2	0.1%	0.29%	0.37%
Non-metallic mineral products	3.20	133.4	0.5%	0.91%	0.76%
Cement and lime	1.64	131.8	0.9%	1.23%	0.31%
Basic metals	9.65	145.4	5.8%	5.98%	(-)0.07%
Semi-finished steel	1.27	117.8	2.7%	0.43%	(-)1.80%

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry

 

End

 

Reported by Shubham Rana

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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