Wholesale inflation (WPI)
WPI = Wholesale Price Index- How often
- Every month14th of the following month, 12:00 noon
- Next release
- Mon 16 NovIn 4 days · 12:00 noon
- Base year
- 2022-23 = 100
September 2026, up from 9.92% in August 2026.
Events on this chart
Source: OEA, DPIIT, released 14 Oct 2026 · Chart: Clarity UPSC
- Previous
- 9.92%Aug 2026
- Highest
- 16.63%May 2022
- Lowest
- −6.14%Aug 2015
Higher than 90% of the 162 readings since Apr 2013.
Story
How fast the prices of goods are rising before they reach shops, compared with the same month last year.
What is happening now As of Sep 2026
Wholesale inflation rose to 11.39% in September 2026, from 9.92% in August. A year earlier, in September 2025, it was −0.20%, meaning wholesale prices were then slightly lower than a year before. Fuel and power prices rose 25.85%, manufactured products 9.76% and primary articles 8.67%.
The Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA) named mineral oils (petroleum products), food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, coal and lignite, basic metals, chemicals, textiles, rubber and plastic products, and electrical equipment as the drivers. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the renewed conflict in West Asia had caused sharp swings in crude oil prices, and that high energy and commodity prices were still passing through to other prices. Its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the repo rate by 0.25 percentage point to 5.50% on 7 October 2026.
Why it matters
Wholesale prices are an early signal of cost pressure. When fuel, metals, chemicals or farm produce cost more in bulk, factories, traders and transporters pay more for their inputs. Part of that rise can pass on, over time, to the prices that households pay in shops.
Producers and traders watch the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for changes in their costs and selling prices. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) watches energy and commodity prices for this pass-through, although its inflation target uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
What it is
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) follows prices of goods before the retail stage, in three groups: primary articles such as farm produce and minerals, fuel and power, and manufactured products.
Weights come from the value of production. Manufactured products carry about 63%, primary articles about 23% and fuel and power about 14%.
The index uses basic prices: product taxes are left out and product subsidies are included. It covers goods only. The Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA) in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) publishes it every month.
Read this number
- The publisher
- The Office of the Economic Adviser in the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (Ministry of Commerce and Industry) compiles the WPI, the producer price indices and the core industries index.
- Items
- 957 goods
- Weights
- Manufactured 63.13%, primary 22.76%, fuel and power 14.11%
- Prices
- Basic prices (taxes out, subsidies in)
- Release rule
- 14th of the following month, 12:00 noon IST; next working day if a holiday
Terms on this page (5)
- CPI
- Consumer Price Index
- DPIIT
- Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
- MPC
- Monetary Policy Committee
- OEA
- Office of the Economic Adviser
- RBI
- Reserve Bank of India
History
- 2017Base revised to 2011-12.
- 2026New series with base 2022-23 from May 2026, first released on 15 June 2026. Weights now come from the gross value of output.
- 2026Producer Price Indices begin alongside it. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) continues for a planned five-year changeover.
Readings
| Period | Value | Status | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 11.39% | Provisional | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Aug 2026 | 9.92% | Provisional | 14 Sep 2026 |
| Jul 2026 | 9.78% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Jun 2026 | 9.97%revised from 9.87% | Final | 14 Sep 2026 |
| May 2026 | 9.88%revised from 9.68% | Final | 14 Aug 2026 |
| Apr 2026 | 8.36%revised from 8.26% | Final | 14 Jul 2026 |
| Mar 2026 | 3.98% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Feb 2026 | 2.18% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Jan 2026 | 1.19% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Dec 2025 | 0.30% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Nov 2025 | −0.59% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
| Oct 2025 | −1.18% | Final | 14 Oct 2026 |
For UPSC
Know the Wholesale Price Index (WPI): its goods-only basket valued at basic prices, its 2022-23 base, and the Producer Price Indices that began alongside it in June 2026, with the WPI kept for a five-year changeover.