India's wholesale price inflation eased to the lowest in over a year at 0.39% in May, compared to 0.85% in April, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Monday.
Commodities across the board saw a fall in wholesale prices. While wholesale inflation in primary articles—especially food—led the decline, prices of manufactured products too rose at a slower pace, along with a fall in fuel and power.
-
Indian Markets Turning Corner After Two Tough Years, Says Sandeep Tandon -
NDTV Profit Ignite 2026: Experts See Opportunity In Equities, Stay Bullish For Long-Term -
Buy Right, Sit Tight Does Not Work for Individual Stocks, Says Dinshaw Irani -
'Worst Is Behind': Quant MF Sees Market Bottom, Flags 'Extreme Euphoria' In Midcaps -
India's Mutual Fund Industry Could Become A $1 Trillion Opportunity, Say Fund Managers -
'Foreign Investors Are Baraatis': Raamdeo Agrawal's Take On LTCG Tax -
Stay Invested Through Market Cycles: Raamdeo Agrawal at NDTV Profit Ignite -
Ramesh Damani Remains Bullish On India For Next 20-30 Years, Sees Bargains Amid Market Weakness -
CAS Came After A Long Consultation Process: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFIT IGNITE -
Aim To Cut FPI Onboarding Time From Mth To Five Days: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFI
While the cooling was broad-based, with the food, the WPI food inflation print slumped to 1.7% in May 2025, the lowest in 19 months, amid the subdued sequential uptick in prices, said Rahul Agrawal, senior economist, ICRA.
As many as 20 of the 22 food items for which data is released by the Department of Consumer Affairs, reported an easing in their year-on-year inflation rate in June 2025 (until June 15), compared to May 2025, partly aided by a favourable base. Given these trends, ICRA expects the WPI-food inflation to soften further in June 2025 from 1.7% in May 2025.
The temporal and spatial distribution of the monsoon remains key for crop outlook, and consequently, food inflation, Agarwal said.
Higher crude oil prices, along with some depreciation in the INR relative to the USD, would also impart upward pressure on the WPI inflation print for June 2025, which is nevertheless likely to remain benign at around 0.6-0.8% in June 2025, he added.
WPI Key Highlights
Inflation in manufactured products—the largest component of the index—rose by 2.04% versus 2.62%.
Primary articles inflation fell by 2.02% versus a fall of 1.44%.
Inflation in food articles—a sub-component of primary articles— fell 1.56% vs 0.86%.
Fuel and power inflation at -2.27% versus -2.18%.
Vegetables: -21.62% versus 18.26% in April.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.