PR No – 178
14th Sep 2026
New Delhi
Wholesale Inflation Rises to 9.92% in August 2026; Elevated Input Costs Require Close Monitoring: PHDCCI
New Delhi, September 14, 2026
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation increased marginally to 9.92% in August 2026, from 9.78% in July 2026, indicating continued price pressures across key commodity and manufacturing segments, according to the provisional data released for August 2026. The All Commodities WPI index increased to 110.8 in August from 110.0 in July.
The latest movement in wholesale prices warrants close monitoring, particularly from the perspective of industrial input costs, business margins and competitiveness. The increase in WPI inflation has been accompanied by significant price pressures in fuel and power, manufactured products and selected primary commodities said Mr. Rajeev Juneja, President, PHDCCI.
The sharpest stress continues to stem from the Fuel and Power segment, where inflation accelerated to 22.93% in August from 20.05% in July 2026. Within this segment, mineral oils recorded inflation of 38.48%, while crude petroleum and natural gas registered 34.41%. These developments are important for industry because energy-based inputs have economy-wide implications for transportation, logistics, manufacturing to other production costs.
Manufactured Products inflation also increased to 8.37% in August from 8.29% in July 2026, creating persistent cost pressures within the manufacturing. Among manufacturing segments, food products recorded inflation of 9.65%, chemicals and chemical products 14.30%, rubber and plastic products 11.18%, and basic metals 10.88%. At the same time, motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers recorded inflation of 3.70%.
The Primary Articles group, however, saw inflation moderate to 7.76% in August from 8.52% in July. Food Articles inflation stood at 5.67%, while non-food articles recorded 14.79% and minerals 8.24%. The WPI Food Index, with a weight of 24.99%, increased to 7.05% in August from 6.65% in July, indicating continued pressure on the food-related supply chain.
The moderation in primary article inflation is good news, but the persistence of elevated fuel, food and manufactured-product prices highlights the need for close monitoring of input-cost pressures, he added.
The cumulative WPI inflation during April-August FY2026-27 stands at 9.56%, substantially higher than -0.20% during the corresponding period of FY2025-26. Fuel and Power recorded cumulative inflation of 25.20%, while Primary Articles and Manufactured Products recorded 6.45% and 7.88%, respectively.
The ongoing transition towards the new 2022-23 WPI base year and the availability of Output Producer Price Index and trial Input Producer Price Index data will provide additional insights into price formation across the production chain. The August 2026 trial Input PPI for manufacturing stood at 104.2.
“Transmission of wholesale price pressures to downstream prices will depend on the extent to which producers absorb higher input costs, pass them through to consumers, or offset them through productivity and efficiency gains. The impact is therefore likely to remain segregated across sectors said Dr. Ranjeet Mehta, SG &CEO, PHDCCI”.