India's wholesale inflation dips to -1.21% in Oct against 0.13% in Sep

October 2025 WPI-based inflation: The negative rate of inflation is primarily due to a decrease in prices of food articles, crude petroleum & natural gas, electricity, and mineral oils

The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-linked inflation dropped to -1.21 per cent in October, from 0.13 per cent in September, according to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Friday.

 

The negative rate of inflation in October is primarily due to a decrease in prices of food articles, crude petroleum and natural gas, electricity, mineral oils and the manufacturing of basic metals, among others.

October WPI food index

The WPI food index, which tracks the prices of food items and food products, showed a deflationary trend this month. Food inflation dropped to –5.04 per cent, compared to –1.99 per cent in September. This means food became even cheaper than before.

 

When it came to primary articles, the overall index slipped slightly. Prices of crude oil and natural gas fell by over 3 per cent, and non-food items also became cheaper. Minerals, however, got a little more expensive.

Fuel, power and manufacturing

In contrast, fuel and power became costlier. The index for this group rose by 1.12 per cent in October. Electricity prices went up the most, increasing by nearly 3 per cent, while mineral oils became slightly more expensive. Coal prices did not change at all.

 

For manufactured products, there was a marginal drop of 0.07 per cent in October. Out of 22 categories, prices fell in seven of them, including chemicals, basic metals, and motor vehicles. At the same time, prices increased in 11 categories such as textiles, food products, electronics, and electrical equipment. Four categories remained unchanged.

October CPI inflation drops to 0.25%

Meanwhile, India’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), cooled to 0.25 per cent in October, from 1.54 per cent in September, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Wednesday. The sharp decline marked the lowest year-on-year inflation of the current CPI series.

 

The drop in inflation in October was mainly due to record-low food prices and the impact of the recent Goods and Services Tax (GST) cuts, which eased prices across several sectors. The headline inflation had dipped in September after a slight increase in August, which marked the first monthly rise in inflation in 10 months.