New Delhi. The wholesale inflation rate (WPI) of goods has increased in the country. According to the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the inflation rate of food items, petroleum products, electricity rates and manufactured goods increased to 9.92 percent in August 2026. Whereas, the wholesale inflation rate in July was 9.78 percent. This is the fourth consecutive month when the wholesale inflation rate is close to 10 percent.
According to government data, the inflation rate of food items increased to 7.05 percent in August. In July it was 6.65 percent. At the same time, the wholesale inflation rate of petroleum products and electricity increased by about three percent last month. Their wholesale inflation rate became 22.93 percent instead of 20.05 percent in July. In August 2026, the wholesale inflation rate of manufactured goods was 8.37 percent. Which is the highest level. This rate was 8.29 percent in July. Regarding these figures, the Ministry has said that the factors responsible for the increase in the wholesale inflation rate were the increase in the prices of food items, mineral oils containing petroleum products, manufacturing of basic metals, non-food items, chemicals and products made from them.
The wholesale inflation rate has been continuously increasing since the beginning of this financial year. The main reason for this is the tension between Iran and America. Due to tension between the two countries, crude oil is also not coming through the Strait of Hormuz properly. As a result, the price of crude oil is continuously increasing. Apart from this, the price of fertilizer has also increased in the international market. The government has to give huge subsidy on fertilizer bags. So that farmers do not face any problem in growing crops. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had estimated after the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in August that the retail inflation rate would be 5 percent. However, due to increase in wholesale inflation rate, retail inflation rate is also likely to go up.