India's wholesale price inflation (WPI) has edged up to 0.83% in December 2025, according to data released by the government on Wednesday. This marks a shift from the contraction of 0.32% recorded in November 2025. The positive rate of inflation in December is primarily attributed to increases in prices of various sectors including manufacturing, minerals, machinery and equipment, food products, and textiles.

The rise in wholesale inflation comes after two months of deflation, with October 2025 registering a contraction of 1.21%. In contrast, WPI inflation was 2.57% in December 2024.

Food articles continued to experience deflation, although at a slower rate. The deflation in food articles was 0.43% in December, compared to 4.16% in November. Specifically, vegetable prices showed a significant moderation in deflation, decreasing to 3.50% in December from 20.23% in the previous month.

However, several categories experienced increased inflation. Manufactured products saw WPI inflation inch up to 1.82% in December from 1.33% in November. The non-food articles category also showed an increase, with inflation rising to 2.95% in December from 2.27% in November. Conversely, the fuel and power sectors remained in deflation, with a decline of 2.31% in December, similar to the previous month.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been closely monitoring inflation trends. The RBI had reduced policy interest rates by 1.25 percentage points in the current fiscal year, as inflation remained low. In its December monetary policy review, the RBI lowered its inflation forecast for FY26 to 2% from an earlier projection of 2.6%.

Data released earlier this week also indicated a rise in retail inflation, which increased to 1.33% in December from 0.71% in November, driven by rising food prices.