WPI Softens to 0.13 pc in September
“Positive rate of inflation in September 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of the manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, non-food articles, other transport equipment and textiles, etc,” the commerce ministry said in a statement
New Delhi: After the headline retail inflation, wholesale price inflation or WPI softened to 0.13 per cent in September on easing in prices of food articles, fuel and manufactured items. WPI-based inflation was 0.52 per cent in August and 1.91 per cent in September last year, the government data showed on Tuesday.
“Positive rate of inflation in September 2025 is primarily due to an increase in prices of the manufacture of food products, other manufacturing, non-food articles, other transport equipment and textiles, etc,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
According to WPI data, deflation in food articles was 5.22 per cent in September, compared to 3.06 per cent in August, with vegetables experiencing a decline in prices. “Deflation in vegetables was 24.41 per cent in September, as against 14.18 per cent in August,” the ministry’s data said.
In the case of manufactured products, the data further showed that inflation eased to 2.33 per cent, as against 2.55 per cent in August. “Fuel and power witnessed a negative inflation or deflation of 2.58 per cent in September, as against 3.17 per cent in the previous month,” the data showed.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which takes into account retail inflation, had kept benchmark policy rates unchanged at 5.5 per cent earlier this month. Retail inflation fell to an 8-year low of 1.5 per cent in September, official data released on Monday showed.
Barclays India chief economist Aastha Gudwani said that amid the generally lower global commodity prices, WPI inflation is expected to stay subdued for longer. While India Ratings and Research’s associate director Paras Jasrai said that core inflation rose to a 31-month high of 1.9 per cent in September 2025, driven by a record pace of jewellery price growth at 34.1 per cent year-over-year.
“This, along with record-low retail inflation, is expected to result in muted GDP deflator growth and will put pressure on corporate margins in 2QFY26. Looking ahead, a favorable base effect is expected to push the wholesale index back into deflation in October 2025. Consequently, Ind-Ra anticipates wholesale deflation in October 2025 to be around 0.5 per cent,” Jasrai said.
“The near-term inflation trajectory is expected to remain weak, with some pickup anticipated by the end of FY26. There is potential for another round of 25 basis point cuts in the repo rate, though much will depend on incremental data, including the impact of effective GST rates,” he added.