Wholesale Prices Rise to 9.87% in June as Fuel, Food Costs Accelerate

Mumbai – On Tuesday, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry published its June WPI figures, revealing a 9.87 per cent increase on an annual basis, marginally above May’s 9.68 per cent. The three core WPI components each posted gains.

Fuel and energy surged 27.41 per cent, down slightly from May’s 30.33 per cent but still far above the year‑on‑year trend. Primary articles, driven by food items, rose 7 per cent, while manufactured goods edged up by 7.48 per cent, unchanged from the prior month.

The spike in fuel and energy reflects higher crude oil and petroleum product costs, while primary articles saw a 6.14 per cent rise in June, up from 4.49 per cent in May. Food items represent 24.99 per cent of the WPI composition.

In parallel, the consumer price index (CPI) showed an interim increase to 4.38 per cent in June, against a final 3.93 per cent in May. Rural retail inflation accelerated to 4.74 per cent, surpassing the urban rate of 3.92 per cent, which rose from 3.53 per cent in May. Retail food inflation was 5.32 per cent, a modest rise from 4.78 per cent.

The data also identified the five commodities with the highest year‑on‑year price surges in June: silver jewellery (133.21 per cent), ginger (50.41 per cent), gold/diamond/platinum jewellery (36.82 per cent), tomatoes (31.92 per cent) and raisins/sultanas (20.52 per cent).