After retail inflation, now wholesale inflation has also given a big blow to the country. After four years i.e. after September 2022, wholesale inflation rate in the country is more than 10 percent. If we look at the statistics, in September 2026, the wholesale inflation rate of the country has been seen to be more than 11 percent. Experts say that this is due to the rise in crude oil prices. Let us also tell you what kind of figures have been released by the government regarding wholesale inflation.
Wholesale inflation rose to 11.39 percent year-on-year in September from 9.92 percent in August, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday. This was due to rapid rise in prices of fuel and electricity, food items and manufactured goods. A Reuters poll of economists earlier this month had estimated wholesale inflation for the month at 10.18%. At the same time, data released earlier this week showed that the country’s retail inflation rate rose to 5.54% in September from 4.83% in August. The reason for this was the rapid increase in the prices of food items, especially vegetables.
Wholesale inflation over 10 percent after 4 years
The special thing is that after 4 years the wholesale inflation rate is more than 10 percent or even in double digits. The last time the headline inflation figure was seen in September 2022 was 10.70 percent. This means that wholesale inflation in the country has reached a 4-year high. On the other hand, this is the second consecutive month that the wholesale inflation rate has seen an increase. In the month of July, the wholesale inflation rate decreased slightly. Prior to that, wholesale inflation had seen a steady increase from November 2025 to June 2026.
Fuel and electricity inflation were affected
In September, the inflation rate of fuel and power increased to 25.85% from 22.93% in August, while the inflation rate of manufactured goods increased to 9.76% from 8.37%. During the same period, the inflation rate of primary items (which includes food items, non-food items and minerals) increased from 7.76% to 8.67%.
The wholesale food index (which includes food items and manufactured food products) recorded an inflation rate of 8.66% in September, as against 7.05% in August. The ministry said the main drivers of wholesale inflation include mineral oil, food items, crude oil and natural gas, coal and lignite, base metals, chemicals, textiles, rubber and plastic products and electrical equipment.
What do economists say?
Economists cited El Nino and uneven monsoon rains as key risks to food inflation and warned that this could affect kharif production and delay rabi sowing. Low average water levels in reservoirs are a concern for winter crops and the impact on food prices will depend on crop production and adverse weather conditions, ICRA’s Aditi Nair and ANZ’s Dheeraj Nim said in an ET report. Rising commodity and energy prices around the world put pressure on food prices.
Why has wholesale inflation increased?
Higher crude oil prices can increase the cost of agriculture, irrigation and transportation, while higher liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices can increase fertilizer costs. India’s import dependence on edible oils also makes the category vulnerable to fluctuations in global prices, while higher costs of freight, packaging and crop protection can increase the cost of bringing foodstuffs to market. In early October, the RBI raised the benchmark repo rate to 5.5%, the first such increase since February 2023. Governor Sanjay Malhotra said it is clear that inflation and its projections are not as normal as last year.
The WPI inflation figures for September were released under the revised series. The series was launched in June with 2022-23 as the base year, to better reflect the current composition of the economy. In the new category, the commodity basket has been expanded from 697 to 957 items and also includes new sources of energy like solar, wind and nuclear power.
