India’s wholesale prices rose 1.81% year-on-year (YoY) in January, up from a 0.83% increase in December 2025, driven by higher costs in primary articles and manufactured goods. The All Commodities WPI index reached 157.8 in January 2026, as per data released by the government.
The government said, “Positive rate of inflation in January, 2026 is primarily due to increase in prices of manufacture of basic metals, other manufacturing, non-food articles, food articles and textiles etc.” in its release on February 16.
Primary articles see inflation at 2.21%
The index of Primary Articles, which includes items such as agricultural products and raw materials, stood at 193.9. Inflation in this category rose to 2.21% compared with the same month last year. This category is a key contributor to overall price trends.
The Fuel & Power segment displayed a continued moderation, with prices declining. The index for this group stood at 145.9, registering a -4.01% year-on-year contraction. Lower energy costs helped to temper the overall inflation figure even as other segments saw price increases.
Manufactured products see inflation at 2.86%
Manufactured products, which carry the largest weight in the WPI basket, saw their index at 147.5 in January, with inflation of 2.86% year-on-year. This reflected rising costs in sectors such as basic metals, chemicals and textiles, pointing to cost pressures across factory outputs.
Month-on-month rise in wholesale prices
On a monthly basis, WPI rose 0.51% in January 2026 compared with December 2025, with manufactured products supporting the overall increase.
The Primary Articles index declined 0.15% month-on-month (MoM), falling to 193.9 in January from 194.2 in December 2025. The Fuel and Power index also dropped 1.62% MoM to 145.9 in January from 148.3 in December. However, the Manufactured Products index increased 1.30% MoM, rising to 147.5 in January from 145.6 in December.
January CPI rises to 2.75% under new 2024-base inflation series
On February 12, the government also released India’s CPI inflation data for January 2026, which rose to 2.75% under the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with 2024 as the base year.