Overview
- Official figures show WPI at −0.32% year on year in November versus −1.21% in October, with a 0.71% month‑on‑month rise led by higher primary articles and electricity.
- Food prices remained in deflation but firmed: the WPI food index improved to −2.60% from −5.04%, vegetables were still about 20% cheaper than a year ago, and CPI food stayed negative near −2.8%.
- Retail inflation ticked up to 0.71% from October’s 0.25% as vegetables and some proteins rose month on month, keeping headline CPI below 1% for a second straight month.
- Core CPI hovered around 4.25%–4.34%, though analysts note gold and silver surges inflated the measure, with ‘core‑core’ excluding precious metals near 2.4%.
- The RBI cut the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.25% and trimmed its FY26 inflation projection to 2%, while forecasters such as ICRA and Bank of Baroda expect WPI to turn mildly positive in December and to stay subdued into Q4 FY26.