The latest reading was higher than April’s 8.3% and follows a 0.2% contraction recorded in May 2025.
The revamped WPI series expands coverage to 957 items from 697 under the previous 2011-12 base year series. The updated basket includes new energy sources such as solar and wind under the electricity group. Nuclear electricity has also been included in the basket.
Read More: India’s wholesale inflation at 9.68% in May under revamped series as Iran war-driven oil costs bite
“The recent cooling in global energy and commodity prices after the easing of tensions in West Asia is expected to provide respite to the WPI inflation print for June,” said Rahul Agrawal, principal economist at ICRA.
Fuel and power remained the primary driver of wholesale inflation, with prices in the category rising 30.3% in May compared with 24.9% in April. Within this, mineral oils surged to 49.8% from 40.7%, while crude petroleum and natural gas inflation climbed further to 61.5% from 56.3%.
The sharp increase reflects the impact of elevated global energy prices.Inflation in manufactured products rose to 7.5% in May from 6.7% in April, while inflation in primary articles increased to 5% from 3.8%.
The headline WPI inflation surged to a series high of 9.7% in May, amidst a broad-based uptick across most groups, partly aided by a favourable base,” said Agrawal.
The revised index has also altered category weightings. The share of fuel and power increased to 14.1% from 13.2%, while the weight of manufactured products declined to 63.1% from 64.2%. The weight of primary articles edged up to 22.8% from 22.6%.
The government also released the Producers Price Index (PPI) for the first time. PPI inflation rose to 9.4% in May from 8.1% in April.
“Considering the wide usage of WPI in price escalation clauses, this index will be released for five years from the date of its release, along with PPI, and will be discontinued thereafter,” the commerce ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also released the Service Producer Price Index, covering seven sectors including banking, securities transactions, insurance, railways and telecom.
The Securities Transaction Service Price Index increased 2.8% in the fourth quarter of FY26 compared with the previous quarter, while railway passenger services rose 2.2%. In contrast, banking service prices declined 1.3%, pension fund management services fell 2.4%, and air passenger service prices slipped 0.4%. Telecom services and railway freight services remained unchanged during the quarter.