Key Points

New Delhi [India], August 14 (ANI): India's wholesale inflation, measured by the All India Wholesale Price Index (WPI), slipped further into the negative zone in July 2025, standing at (-) 0.58 per cent (provisional) compared to the same month last year, according to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

This marks a continuation of the deflationary trend, with the decline largely driven by falling prices of food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum & natural gas, and basic metals. On a month-to-month basis, however, the WPI rose by 0.39 per cent in July over June 2025.

The WPI captures price movements across major commodity groups, and July's data shows mixed trends. The Primary Articles group, which makes up 22.62 per cent of the WPI, saw its index climb by 1.18 per cent, from 185.8 in June to 188 in July. Price increases were recorded in crude petroleum & natural gas (2.56 per cent), non-food articles (2.11 per cent), and food articles (0.96 per cent). At the same time, the price of minerals fell by 1.08 per cent.

In the Fuel & Power category, which holds a 13.15 per cent weight in the index, the WPI rose by 1.12 per cent month-on-month, moving from 143 in June to 144.6 in July. This was mainly due to a 1.98 per cent increase in mineral oil prices. In contrast, coal prices dropped by 0.44 per cent and electricity by 0.36 per cent. Despite the monthly uptick, the year-on-year inflation rate for this category remained negative at (-) 2.43 per cent for July.

Manufactured Products, the largest component of the WPI with a weight of 64.23 per cent, registered a slight decline of 0.14 per cent in its index, easing from 144.8 in June to 144.6 in July. The category displayed a balanced movement, with nine industrial groups witnessing price increases, nine recording declines, and four seeing no change. Price rises were notable in items such as other manufacturing, transport equipment, motor vehicles, other non-metallic mineral products, and furniture. However, these gains were countered by price drops in basic metals, fabricated metal products, food products, chemicals, and paper products.

The WPI Food Index, which combines food articles from the Primary Articles group and food products from Manufactured Products, rose from 190.2 in June to 191.3 in July. Yet, the inflation rate for the Food Index moved deeper into the negative, from (-) 0.26 per cent in June to (-) 2.15 per cent in July. This indicates that while prices saw a slight monthly increase, they were still lower than levels recorded in July 2024.

Revised figures for May 2025 placed the WPI at 153.7, with the annual inflation rate for that month standing at 0.13 per cent.

- ANI