Wholesale price inflation remained in negative territory for the second consecutive month in November primarily due to a decrease in the prices of food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, basic metals and electricity, the government data released on Monday showed. The Wholesale Price Index-based inflation fell to (-) 0.32% in November from 2.16% in the same month last year. This also marked the fourth instance of WPI entering in negative in the last six months.
However, the extent of deflation narrowed sequentially due to seasonal increase in the prices of select food items. The WPI was (-)1.21% in October.
Deflation in food articles
According to the data, the deflation in food articles was 4.16% compared to 8.31% in October. The deflation in vegetables and fruits was 20.23% and 0.91% in November, as against 34.97% and 7.03% in October respectively.
The food index (24.38% weight) consisting of ‘food articles’ from primary articles group and ‘food product’ from manufactured products group has increased from 192.0 in October to 195.0. The rate of inflation (Y-o-Y) based on WPI food index increased from (-) 5.04% in October to (-)2.60% in November.
Retail inflation inched up to 0.71% in November, from a record low of 0.25%, driven by rising food prices, according to the data released by the National Statistics Office last week.
Inflation in manufactured products
The government data showed that the inflation in manufactured products eased to 1.33% in November against 1.54% in October. Fuel and power remained in negative territory at (-2.27)% in November against (-)2.55% in October. The primary articles inflation was (-)2.93% during the months as compared to (-)6.18% in October.
According to economists, WPI is likely to average around 0.4% in FY26.
“The WPI deflation narrowed faster than expected to 0.3% in November 2025 from 1.2% in October 2025, reflecting the base effect, weakening INR and rising prices of some commodities,” Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA Ltd said. With the further depreciation in the rupee, hardening commodity prices, and unseasonal rise in vegetable prices, and despite softening crude oil, Nayar expects the WPI to move into a YoY inflation of around 0.5% in December, and subsequently average above 1.5% in Q4FY6. This will aid in a slight normalisation in the GDP deflator going ahead, Nayar said.
Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist at CARE Ratings Ltd, said that while food prices continued to remain in deflation, elevated edible oil inflation limited further easing in overall food inflation. Additionally, the government’s decision to impose a 30% import duty on certain pulses is expected to lend support to prices in the segment, she said.
On the external front, Sinha said global commodity prices are expected to remain broadly benign, supported by oversupply in the global crude oil market and excess capacity in China. However, several base metals, including copper, tin, and aluminium, along with precious metals such as gold and silver, have witnessed sharp price increases, she said.