India’s wholesale inflation stayed in negative territory for the second straight month in November, even though overall wholesale prices rose compared with October, official data released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) showed on Monday.
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation stood at minus 0.32 per cent in November 2025 (provisional) versus the same month a year ago. A negative growth means average wholesale prices were slightly lower than in November 2024.
The DPIIT statement reasoned that this was mainly because of cheaper food articles, mineral oils, crude petroleum and natural gas, basic metals and electricity compared to a year earlier.
On a month-on-month basis, however, the overall WPI index rose 0.71 per cent in November from October, indicating that wholesale prices moved up sequentially.
By category, primary articles—largely food, minerals and crude—saw their index jump 2.07 per cent over October, led by a 2.5 per cent rise in food articles and a 4.5 per cent increase in minerals.
Within food, vegetables became significantly more expensive on the month, with the vegetables sub-index rising 13.72 per cent, and potatoes and onions also recording notable increases.
Yet, when compared with November last year, the primary articles group still showed an overall inflation of minus 2.93 per cent, reflecting how high base prices in late 2024 are now coming down.
Fuel and power prices in wholesale markets rose 1.03 per cent in November over October, driven mainly by a 6.7 per cent jump in electricity prices, even as mineral oil prices dipped 0.67 per cent and coal stayed flat.
On a year-on-year basis, this group continued to show deflation of 2.27 per cent. Manufactured products, which account for more than 64 per cent of the WPI basket, edged down 0.07 per cent month-on-month, with 14 of 22 manufacturing groups seeing price declines, including food products, chemicals, electronics and non-metallic minerals.
The WPI Food Index, which combines food items from primary and manufactured groups, rose from 192.0 in October to 195.0 in November, a 1.56 per cent increase month-on-month.
However, food inflation on a yearly basis, while still negative, narrowed from minus 5.04 per cent in October to minus 2.60 per cent in November, signalling that last year’s sharp wholesale food price correction is beginning to ease.
DPIIT, in its statement, stressed that the November WPI data is provisional and based on an 82 per cent weighted response rate. The final numbers are yet to be published, with the projected date after 10 weeks after more data come in. The final all-commodities WPI for September 2025 was pegged at 155.0, with annual inflation of 0.19 per cent for that month.
