The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released provisional wholesale price data for September 2026, showing a marked acceleration in inflation. The All India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) climbed to 11.39 percent on a year-on-year basis in September, up from 9.92 percent in August. This data release is the official benchmark used by policymakers, economists and businesses to track price pressures across the economy.
Key facts
- WPI inflation for September 2026: 11.39% year-on-year, up from 8.36% in April
- All Commodities index for September 2026: 112.5 (August: 110.8)
- Primary Articles inflation: 8.67%; Fuel and Power: 25.85%; Manufactured Products: 9.76%
- Food Index inflation: 8.66% year-on-year (weight 24.99% of total basket)
- July 2026 final index: 110.0 with inflation rate of 9.78% (unchanged from provisional)
- Weighted response rate for September provisional data: 83.4%
- Next release date for October 2026 data: Monday, 16 November 2026
What the index measures
The Wholesale Price Index tracks price movements at the wholesale or factory level across three broad commodity groups: primary articles (such as agricultural produce and minerals), fuel and power, and manufactured goods. With a base year of 2022-23 set at 100, the index helps monitor inflation before goods reach consumers. A reading above 100 indicates prices have risen since the base year.
Where inflation accelerated
The sharp jump in overall inflation was driven primarily by fuel and power costs, which spiked 25.85 percent year-on-year in September. Crude petroleum and natural gas showed particularly steep inflation of 57.32 percent, while mineral oils climbed 40.02 percent. Coal and lignite, which had negative inflation earlier in the year, turned positive at 9.31 percent.
Within manufactured products, basic metals saw strong inflation of 16.96 percent. Chemicals and chemical products rose 16.74 percent, textiles jumped 13.85 percent, and rubber and plastic products climbed 13.47 percent. Food-related inflation also accelerated: the food article segment rose 8.14 percent and food product manufacturing increased 9.44 percent.
Food prices climbing
The Food Index, which combines food articles and food product manufacturing and carries a weight of nearly 25 percent in the overall basket, showed year-on-year inflation of 8.66 percent in September. This represents a significant increase from 7.05 percent in August and 6.56 percent in July. Rising food prices affect households directly and are a key focus for government policymakers managing inflation.
Six-month trend
Over the April to September period of the current financial year (2026-27), cumulative inflation across all commodities stands at 9.85 percent compared with the same period in the previous year. Fuel and power inflation over the same six-month period reached 25.31 percent, substantially higher than the prior year’s minus 1.19 percent. Primary articles inflation averaged 6.89 percent cumulatively, and manufactured products inflation averaged 8.08 percent.
Data quality
The September index is provisional, compiled with a weighted response rate of 83.4 percent. The final index for July 2026 was released alongside September data, confirming the provisional figure of 110.0 with no revisions. July data was compiled with a higher response rate of 98.97 percent, indicating greater completeness of collected information.
What this means for you
If you are a consumer, accelerating wholesale inflation, especially in food and fuel, typically translates into higher retail prices within weeks or months. Business owners using these commodities as inputs will face rising raw material costs, which may be passed on to customers or absorbed through lower margins. Investors tracking inflation as a guide to monetary policy decisions should note that sustained double-digit wholesale inflation in fuel and basic materials may influence central bank decisions on interest rates. Students and exam aspirants should understand that WPI is distinct from retail inflation (CPI) and tracks earlier stages of the supply chain.
What happens next
The Ministry will release provisional indices for October 2026 on Monday, 16 November 2026, following the standard practice of releasing data on the 14th of the following month. Detailed item-wise data and historical series from April 2023 onwards is available on the official portal at https://eaindustry.nic.in/download_data_2223.asp.