India WPI inflation hits 9.68% in May 2026 on new base

May print arrives with a new WPI framework

India’s wholesale inflation rose to 9.68% year-on-year in May 2026, up from 8.30% in April, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on June 15, 2026. The May number is the first reading under the revised Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series, which updates the base year to 2022-23 from 2011-12. The jump came alongside elevated prices across fuel, food and manufactured goods. The data also landed in the middle of continuing Middle East tensions linked in the report to the US-Iran war, which lifted global crude prices and strained supply chains.

Under the earlier series, India’s wholesale inflation had already accelerated to a 42-month high of 8.3% in April. With the new base year now in force, the May data sets a fresh reference point for tracking input costs across the economy.

What changed: base year, basket, and methodology

The government has overhauled the inflation tracking framework by revising WPI and launching a new Producer Price Index (PPI) series. For WPI, the base year moved to 2022-23, reflecting changes in consumption and production patterns since 2011-12. The revised WPI basket also expands the number of commodities to 957 from 697, broadening coverage of the economy.

The updated series captures India’s shifting energy mix by including renewable sources such as solar and wind power, and also nuclear electricity. Another structural change is that crude oil and natural gas have been moved from the primary articles category to the fuel and power group, aimed at creating a more comprehensive energy price measure.

The new WPI series also adopts a chain-based short-term formulation method, replacing the long-term approach used earlier. The government said this brings the index closer to global statistical standards.

Fuel and power remained the biggest driver

Energy costs were a key factor behind the May spike. Fuel and power inflation rose to 30.33% in May, accelerating from 24.89% in April. The data noted that crude petroleum prices were a major contributor within this segment.

The inflation rate for crude petroleum increased to 61.51% in May, compared with 56.31% in April. The report linked the surge to the economic impact of the West Asia conflict and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for India’s crude oil imports. With logistics under pressure and crude prices elevated, wholesale energy inflation stayed far above headline WPI.

Food inflation edged higher at the wholesale level

Wholesale food prices also moved up, though at a much lower rate than fuel. Food inflation rose to 4.49% in May from 3.11% in April. The increase reflects higher prices for key agricultural commodities.

Food inflation is an important component for businesses because it shapes input costs in packaged foods, staples processing, hospitality supply chains, and parts of retail distribution. Even a modest rise at the wholesale level can flow into procurement budgets for companies that operate on tight margins.

Manufactured products inflation picked up

The pressure extended to factory-gate pricing as well. Inflation in manufactured products climbed to 7.48% in May, up from 6.68% in April, according to the official release.

Manufactured products form a large share of wholesale transactions and are often sensitive to energy and freight costs. With fuel inflation rising sharply, the May print indicates that cost pressures are being reflected across a wider set of goods tracked in WPI.

Reuters poll vs actual: May print surprises higher

Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected a 9.05% year-on-year rise in wholesale prices for May. The actual 9.68% outcome came in above that expectation.

In a separate poll cited in the provided material, the median estimate from an Informist poll of nine economists pegged May WPI inflation at 9.4% as the new series debuted. The Reuters context also noted that as per the FY12 WPI series, wholesale inflation was 0.13% in May 2025, showing how sharply price trends have shifted versus last year’s base.

Retail inflation also moved higher in May

Price pressures were not limited to wholesale markets. Retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to a 16-month peak of 3.93% in May, from 3.48% in April. While CPI and WPI measure different stages of pricing, both moving higher in the same month underscores broad-based inflation momentum during May.

Transition plan: WPI to be phased out in favour of PPI

Alongside the WPI revision, the government has introduced an output Producer Price Index (PPI) and indicated a shift in the inflation measurement approach. The plan, as stated in the provided text, is to gradually replace WPI with PPI by 2031, with WPI expected to be done away with over the next five years.

The new WPI series will include data from May 2026 and a back series from April 2023. The broader PPI framework also includes a Service Producer Price Index (SPPI) that measures price changes in service sectors and will be released quarterly, covering areas such as banking, insurance, railways, air passenger services, telecom, and securities transactions.

Market impact: what the May WPI print signals

The provided text noted that, immediately after the higher-than-expected May WPI number, there was no immediate response from the Indian Rupee (INR). For businesses and investors, the headline print highlights continued input-cost pressure, especially where energy is a key expense.

With fuel and power inflation at 30.33% and crude petroleum inflation at 61.51%, the WPI data points to elevated cost conditions for fuel-intensive sectors and for manufacturers exposed to freight and power costs. Rising wholesale food inflation and higher manufactured-products inflation also suggest that input costs were not confined to a single category in May.

Key numbers at a glance

Conclusion

India’s wholesale inflation rose to 9.68% in May 2026, with fuel, food, and manufactured goods all contributing to the increase. The reading is also the first under the revised WPI series with a 2022-23 base year, a larger commodity basket, and a chain-based method aligned closer to global standards. The government has simultaneously set a roadmap to transition from WPI toward a broader PPI framework by 2031, with WPI expected to be phased out over time. In the near term, the new series will be watched closely as it builds a longer run of comparable data, including the promised back series from April 2023.