Key facts
- India's wholesale inflation reached 9.68% in May, up from 8.26% in April.
- Soaring fuel and power prices, up 30.33%, and manufactured goods prices, up 7.48%, drove the increase.
- Petroleum and natural gas prices saw a 61.51% surge.
- Retail inflation stood at 3.93% in May.
- New producer price indicators were also released.
- Economists had forecast wholesale inflation at 9.05%.
India's wholesale price inflation accelerated to 9.68% year-on-year in May, a significant increase from April's 8.26%, according to government data. The surge is primarily attributed to persistent energy shocks stemming from the Middle East conflict, with wholesale fuel and power prices jumping 30.33% and crude petroleum and natural gas prices rising 61.51%. Manufactured product prices also advanced 7.48%. This wholesale inflation rate is considerably higher than India's retail inflation, which stood at 3.93% in May. Economists had projected wholesale inflation to reach 9.05%. The data is based on a revised series with a 2022-23 base year, covering 957 commodities. New producer price indicators were also released, showing a 9.38% rise in producer prices in May.