India’s wholesale prices rose 2.13% year-on-year in February 2026, accelerating from a 1.81% increase in January and exceeding expectations of a 2% gain. This marked the fastest rise since February last year, driven by a pickup in inflation for primary articles (3.27% vs 2.21% in January), mainly due to higher costs of food articles (2.19% vs 1.55%) and a sharp acceleration in non-food articles inflation (8.80% vs 4.97%), pushed by a surge in oilseed prices (25.38% vs 0.11%). Price growth also increased for manufactured products (2.92% vs 2.86%), led by tobacco products (6.28% vs 1.38%), textiles (3.29% vs 2.48%), wearing apparel (2.14% vs 2.08%), and leather and related products (1.58% vs 0.78%). Meanwhile, prices for fuel and power continued to decline (-3.78% vs -4.01%), reflecting sustained drops in LPG (-4.63% vs -7.68%), petrol (-5.38% vs -4.58%), and HSD (-3.72% vs -4.26%). On a monthly basis, wholesale prices rose 0.25%, easing from a revised 0.38% increase in January.
