New Delhi, March 16 Wholesale price inflation rose for the fourth consecutive month, at 2.13 per cent in February, driven by an increase in the prices of food and non-food items, even though vegetable prices eased on a month-on-month basis, according to government data released on Monday.
Inflation based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) was 1.81 per cent in the previous month and 2.45 per cent in February last year.
"The positive rate of inflation in February 2026 is primarily due to an increase in the prices of other manufactured goods, basic metals, non-food items, food items, and textiles, etc.," the Ministry of Industry said in a statement.
According to WPI data, inflation in food items was 2.19 per cent in February, compared to 1.55 per cent in the previous month.
In vegetables, inflation eased to 4.73 per cent in February, compared to 6.78 per cent in January.
However, pulses, potatoes, eggs, meat, and fish saw an increase in inflation in February compared to the previous month.
In the case of manufactured goods, WPI inflation rose to 2.92 per cent in February, from 2.86 per cent in the previous month.
Inflation in the non-food items category spiked to 8.80 per cent in February, from 7.58 per cent in January.
Negative inflation, or deflation, continued in the fuel and power sector, at 3.78 per cent in February, compared to 4.01 per cent in January.
The country's retail inflation rose to 3.2 per cent in February, from 2.75 per cent in January, according to data released last week.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced policy interest rates by 1.25 percentage points in the current fiscal year due to low inflation.
The RBI mainly tracks retail inflation when deciding on benchmark interest rates.