Wholesale Inflation rises to 9.68% in May under new WPI series

India's wholesale inflation rose to 9.68 per cent in May 2026 under a revised Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series, as the government unveiled a major overhaul of its inflation measurement framework aimed at better reflecting changes in the economy and aligning with international standards.The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Monday introduced the new WPI series with 2022-23 as the base year, replacing the existing 2011-12 series. Alongside, the government launched new series of Output Producer Price Index (OPPI), Trial Input Producer Price Index (IPPI), and Service Producer Price Indices (PPI), marking a gradual shift toward a producer price-based inflation framework. The existing WPI series will continue to be published for five years to allow users to transition smoothly.
The revised WPI basket has been expanded from 697 items to 957 items to capture structural changes in the economy. Renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, along with nuclear electricity, have been included in the index, while crude petroleum and natural gas have been moved to the Fuel and Power category to improve the tracking of energy prices. The new series also incorporates methodological improvements, including the use of Gross Value of Output (GVO) for assigning weights and improved techniques for handling missing data.
According to provisional estimates, wholesale inflation accelerated from 8.26 per cent in April to 9.68 per cent in May. The all-commodity index rose to 109.9 from 108.8 in the previous month. Fuel and Power recorded the highest inflation at 30.33 per cent, followed by Manufactured Products at 7.48 per cent and Primary Articles at 4.99 per cent. The government identified mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, chemicals and chemical products, and basic metals as the key contributors to the rise in wholesale prices. The WPI Food Index also increased to 4.49 per cent in May from 3.11 per cent in April.The newly introduced Output Producer Price Index rose to 109.6 in May from 108.6 in April, reflecting higher prices across manufacturing, agriculture, mining and quarrying sectors. The Trial Input Producer Price Index, currently being released on an experimental basis for manufacturing, stood at 104.9 in May and will be refined further based on stakeholder feedback.
In another significant development, the Office of the Economic Adviser introduced Service Producer Price Indices for seven sectors, including banking, insurance, securities transactions, railways, air passenger transport and telecommunications. These indices will be released quarterly. For the fourth quarter of FY26, the Securities Transaction Service Price Index rose to 91.7, while the Railway Service Price Index increased to 103.3.The government stated the revamped framework is designed to modernise India's inflation statistics, improve the measurement of producer-level price changes and provide policymakers with a more comprehensive picture of inflation trends across goods and services.

(Business Correspondent)