New Delhi, Feb 16 (.) The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-linked inflation stood at 1.81 percent in January, rising to a 10-month high from 0.83 percent in December 2025, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.
The month-over-month change in WPI for the month of January 2026 stood at 0.51 percent as compared to December, 2025.
The positive rate of inflation in January 2026 is primarily due to an increase in prices of the manufacture of basic metals, other manufacturing, non-food articles, food articles, and textiles, etc., it added.
The Food Index, consisting of ‘Food Articles’ from the Primary Articles group and ‘Food Product’ from the Manufactured Products group have decreased from 196.0 in December 2025 to 194.2 in January 2026. The rate of inflation (Y-o-Y) based on the WPI Food Index increased to 1.41% in January, 2026.
Inflation in Manufactured Products, which carries the highest weight of 64.23 percent in the index, rose to 2.86% in January 2026, compared to 1.82%in December 2025 WPI. The index for manufactured goods increased to 147.5, up from 145.6 in December.
The Fuel & Power category continued to show deflation, with inflation at (-4.01%) in January 2026. The index for the group declined to 145.9 from 148.3 in December, reflecting lower prices of electricity and mineral oils.
Last week, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) data said India’s retail inflation eased to 2.75% in January 2026. The inflation rate is based on the newly introduced Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with a base year of 2024.
Rural inflation stood at 2.73%, while urban inflation was marginally higher at 2.77%, reflecting stable price trends across both sectors.
. VK MI .