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Informist, Monday, Mar. 16, 2026

 

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--India Feb WPI inflation 2.13% vs 1.81% Jan 
--India Feb WPI inflation of 2.13% highest in 11 months 
--Informist Poll estimated India Feb WPI inflation at 2.0% 
--India Feb WPI food inflation 1.85% vs 1.41% Jan 
--India Feb WPI primary articles inflation 3.27% vs 2.21% Jan 
--India Feb WPI fuel and power inflation -3.78% vs -4.01% Jan 
--India Feb WPI manufactured products inflation 2.92% vs 2.86% Jan 
--India Feb WPI all commodities index up 0.3% on month 
--India Feb WPI food index down 0.7% on month 
--India Feb WPI primary articles index down 0.5% on month 
--India Feb WPI fuel and power group index up 1.2% on month 
--India Feb WPI manufactured products index up 0.5% on month 
--India Feb WPI vegetable index down 17.1% on month 
--India Feb WPI cereals index down 0.7% on month 
--India Feb WPI edible oils index up 1.0% on month 
--India Feb WPI basic metals index down 1.0% on month 
--India Dec WPI inflation revised to 0.96% vs 0.83% provisional 
--India Feb WPI core inflation 3.3% vs 3.2% Jan

 

NEW DELHI – WPI inflation in India rose to an 11-month high of 2.13% in February on the back of a broad-based increase in wholesale prices of food items and manufactured products, data released by the commerce ministry Monday showed. At 2.13%, WPI inflation in February was slightly higher than expected.

 

According to an Informist Poll, WPI inflation was seen rising to 2.0% in February. WPI inflation was 1.81% in January and 2.45% in February last year. The December print was revised higher to 0.96% from the provisional estimate of 0.83%.

 

WPI food inflation rose to a nine-month high of 1.85% in February from 1.41% in January. Manufactured products inflation rose to an 11-month high of 2.92% in February from 2.86% a month ago. Fuel and power inflation remained in the negative zone in February even as the extent of deflation moderated. WPI fuel and power index inflation rose to (-)3.78% last month from (-)4.01% in January.

 

Sequentially, the all commodities index of the WPI was up 0.3% in February, driven by the fuel and power index, which rose 1.2% from January. WPI food index fell 0.7% on month in February, pulled down by an over 17?cline in wholesale prices of vegetables during the month. 

 

Among the kitchen staples, the wholesale prices of tomatoes declined 45% on month in February. On a year-on-year basis, tomato inflation was 35.20% in February, down sharply from 91.32% a month ago. For potatoes, wholesale prices fell 12.2% on month in February and 27.42% on year. The wholesale prices of onions slipped 14.9% on month in February, with an on-year inflation of (-)40.95%.

 

The manufactured products inflation rose 0.5% on month in February, slower than the 1.1% sequential increase seen in January. This was mainly due to a month-on-month increase in manufacturing prices of tobacco and food products. Wholesale prices of tobacco rose likely on the back of an excise duty hike on cigarettes from Feb. 1.

 

"The WPI inflation number may not matter for policy formulation but would reflect the impact of crude at $100/barrel in a more effective manner than the CPI," Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda Ltd., said in a note. "The impact on manufactured products would be important as this will be the basis for transmission of higher cost to products which enter the CPI."

 

WPI core inflation, which excludes food and fuel items, rose marginally to a 40-month high of 3.3% in February from 3.2% in January. Core inflation was driven by manufactured products, which rose on the back of higher tobacco, metal, and textile prices.

 

"This (WPI inflation) number is likely to rise faster from March onwards once the higher oil price effects get embedded in the index," Sabnavis said. 

 

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

 

	Weight (%)	February (index)	Month-on-month change	Year-on-year change
				February	January
ALL COMMODITIES	100.00	158.2	0.3	2.13%	1.81%
PRIMARY ARTICLES	22.62	192.9	(-)0.5	3.27%	2.21%
Food articles	15.26	200.2	(-)1.3	2.19%	1.55%
Cereals	2.82	207.9	(-)0.7	(-)2.44%	(-)1.41%
Pulses	0.64	196.9	2.0	(-)5.92%	(-)11.05%
Vegetables	1.87	197.1	(-)17.1	4.73%	6.78%
Potato	0.28	157.0	(-)12.2	(-)27.42%	(-)38.84%
Onion	0.16	179.4	(-)14.9	(-)40.95%	(-)33.42%
Tomato	0.28	217.4	(-)44.9	35.20%	91.32%
Fruits	1.60	217.3	8.5	3.57%	1.78%
Milk	4.44	192.1	0.2	3.00%	2.51%
Eggs, meat, and fish	2.40	180.7	(-)0.2	5.36%	3.66%
Non-food articles	4.12	181.7	0.8	8.80%	7.58%
Oil seeds	1.12	224.3	2.6	25.38%	19.25%
Minerals	0.83	253.1	(-)1.2	11.06%	12.76%
Crude petroleum	1.95	122.8	6.4	(-)1.29%	(-)11.23%
FUEL and POWER	13.15	147.6	1.2	(-)3.78%	(-)4.01%
Coal	2.14	138.0	0.0	1.77%	1.77%
Liquefied petroleum gas	0.64	117.3	2.7	(-)4.63%	(-)7.68%
Petrol	1.60	144.3	0.3	(-)5.38%	(-)4.58%
High speed diesel	3.10	160.4	1.2	(-)3.72%	(-)4.29%
Electricity	3.06	149.8	(-)0.3	(-)2.98%	(-)3.59%
MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS	64.23	148.2	0.5	2.92%	2.86%
Food products	9.12	180.7	0.6	1.12%	1.18%
Edible oils	2.64	190.3	1.0	0.21%	0.53%
Textiles	4.88	141.4	0.7	3.29%	2.48%
Chemical, chemical products	6.47	137.9	0.5	0.73%	0.29%
Non-metallic mineral products	3.20	133.7	0.2	0.30%	0.91%
Cement and lime	1.64	132.4	0.5	(-)0.30%	1.23%
Basic metals	9.65	143.9	(-)1.0	4.35%	5.98%
Semi-finished steel	1.27	118.0	0.2	0.51%	0.43%

 

Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry

 

End

 

Reported by Shubham Rana and Shweta

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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