India’s wholesale prices rose 9.68% year-on-year in May 2026, up from 8.30% in April and above market expectations of 9.1%. This was the fastest pace of wholesale inflation since September 2022. Manufacturing prices climbed at their quickest rate since August 2022, food prices increased at the fastest pace in 14 months, and fuel prices grew at the fastest rate since September 2022, reflecting the impact of the Middle East crisis.
Fuel prices jumped 30.33%, driven by a sharp increase in mineral oil prices (49.82%) and in crude petroleum and natural gas prices (61.51%). At the same time, manufacturing inflation accelerated to 7.48% from 4.62% in April, with notable gains in textiles (10.22% vs. 7.30%) and in chemicals and chemical products (13.40% vs. 5.09%).
