The wholesale inflation rate in the country has increased to 2.13 percent in February 2026. This is the fourth consecutive month when wholesale price index (WPI) based inflation has registered an increase. Earlier in January this rate was 1.81 percent, whereas in February 2025 it was 2.45 percent. According to the data released by the government on Monday, the main reason for this was the increase in prices of food and non-food items.
Reason for increase in inflation
The Industry Ministry said in its statement that the positive rate of inflation in February 2026 was mainly due to the increase in prices of other manufacturing, basic metals, non-food items, food items and textiles. That is, there was pressure on prices in many important categories in the wholesale market, due to which the inflation rate went up.
What do the figures say?
According to the data, inflation in food items increased from 1.55 percent in January to 2.19 percent in February. However, there was some relief in the inflation of vegetables. Inflation of vegetables was 4.73 percent in February, which was 6.78 percent in January. Despite this, the prices of commodities like pulses, potatoes and eggs, meat and fish increased more than in the previous month. There was a slight increase in inflation on the manufactured products front as well. In February, wholesale inflation of this category was 2.92 percent, which was 2.86 percent in January. On the other hand, inflation of non-food items increased from 7.58 percent to 8.80 percent, which indicates that there is pressure on the prices of raw materials and other essential industrial goods. On the other hand, the decline in fuel and electricity category i.e. deflation continued. In February, the inflation rate in this category was minus 3.78 percent, whereas in January it was minus 4.01 percent. This means that prices in the region still remain below last year’s levels, although the pace of decline has slowed slightly.
Retail inflation also increased to 3.2%
Meanwhile, retail inflation also increased to 3.2 percent in February, from 2.75 percent in January. These retail inflation figures were released last week. The Reserve Bank of India mainly considers retail inflation as the basis while deciding on interest rates. RBI has so far cut the inflation rate by 1.25 percentage points despite inflation remaining relatively low in the current financial year. The rise in wholesale inflation for the fourth consecutive month indicates that the price pressure in the market has not completely ended. Although there has been relief in vegetables, rising prices in both food and non-food categories may impact the inflation trend in the coming times.
