New Delhi: India's wholesale inflation rose to a record 9.7% year-on-year in May, the first reading under the revised Wholesale Price Index (WPI) series with 2022-23 as base year, according to official data released Monday.The latest reading was higher than April’s 8.3% and follows a 0.2% contraction recorded in May 2025.The revamped WPI series expands coverage to 957 items from 697 under the previous 2011-12 base year series. The updated basket includes new energy sources such as solar and wind under the electricity group. Nuclear electricity has also been included in the basket.Read More: India's wholesale inflation at 9.68% in May under revamped series as Iran war-driven oil costs bite“The recent cooling in global energy and commodity prices after the easing of tensions in West Asia is expected to provide respite to the WPI inflation print for June,” said Rahul Agrawal, principal economist at ICRA.Fuel and power remained the primary driver of wholesale inflation, with prices in the category rising 30.3% in May compared with 24.9% in April. Within this, mineral oils surged to 49.8% from 40.7%, while crude petroleum and natural gas inflation climbed further to 61.5% from 56.3%.The sharp increase reflects the impact of elevated global energy prices.Inflation in manufactured products rose to 7.5% in May from 6.7% in April, while inflation in primary articles increased to 5% from 3.8%.The headline WPI inflation surged to a series high of 9.7% in May, amidst a broad-based uptick across most groups, partly aided by a favourable base,” said Agrawal.The revised index has also altered category weightings. The share of fuel and power increased to 14.1% from 13.2%, while the weight of manufactured products declined to 63.1% from 64.2%. The weight of primary articles edged up to 22.8% from 22.6%.The government also released the Producers Price Index (PPI) for the first time. PPI inflation rose to 9.4% in May from 8.1% in April.Read More: CEA defends India's GDP data, says country does not use methodology changes to inflate growth numbers“Considering the wide usage of WPI in price escalation clauses, this index will be released for five years from the date of its release, along with PPI, and will be discontinued thereafter,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.The ministry also released the Service Producer Price Index, covering seven sectors including banking, securities transactions, insurance, railways and telecom.The Securities Transaction Service Price Index increased 2.8% in the fourth quarter of FY26 compared with the previous quarter, while railway passenger services rose 2.2%. In contrast, banking service prices declined 1.3%, pension fund management services fell 2.4%, and air passenger service prices slipped 0.4%. Telecom services and railway freight services remained unchanged during the quarter.
WPI inflation surges to all-time high of 9.7% under new series
India's wholesale inflation hit a record 9.7% in May. This marks the first reading under a new Wholesale Price Index series. Fuel and power prices significantly drove this increase. Manufactured products and primary articles also saw higher inflation. The government also released new price indices for producers and services.












