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The annual rate of inflation based on the All India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number reached 0.83 per cent (provisional) for the month of December 2025 compared to the same month in 2024.
According to a release from the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, this positive rate of inflation is primarily due to an increase in the prices of other manufacturing, minerals, manufacture of machinery and equipment, manufacture of food products, and textiles. The data indicates a month-over-month change in the WPI for December 2025 of 0.71 per cent when compared to November 2025. Primary articles, which carry a weight of 22.62 per cent in the index, saw a group increase of 1.09 per cent, moving from 192.1 in November to 194.2 in December. Within this segment, the price of non-food articles rose by 2.76 per cent, minerals increased by 1.62 per cent, and food articles grew by 0.88 per cent. Conversely, the price of crude petroleum and natural gas decreased by 0.45 per cent during the same period. The fuel and power group, holding a weight of 13.15 per cent, recorded a 1.23 per cent increase in its index, rising to 148.3 in December. This shift was driven by electricity prices, which rose by 4.46 per cent, followed by coal at 0.66 per cent and mineral oils at 0.07 per cent. These figures contribute to the overall upward trajectory of wholesale costs at the end of the 2025 calendar year. Manufactured products, the largest category with a weight of 64.23 per cent, saw its index increase by 0.41 per cent to 145.6. Out of 22 NIC two-digit groups for manufactured products, 13 groups witnessed an increase in prices, while eight groups witnessed a decrease and one remained unchanged. The ministry noted that some of the important groups that showed month-over-month increase in prices were other manufacturing, basic metals, chemicals and chemical products, textiles, and other non-metallic mineral products. In the food sector, the WPI Food Index, which combines food articles from the primary group and food products from the manufactured group, increased from 195.0 in November to 196.0 in December. The year-on-year rate of inflation for the Food Index shifted from a negative 2.60 per cent in November 2025 to 0.00 per cent in December 2025. This stabilization in food costs reflects a broader trend of price adjustments across the wholesale market. WPI for the month of January, 2026 would be released on 16/02/2026. (ANI)
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