As per WPI data, food articles saw a deflation of 3.75% in June, as against a deflation of 1.56% in May, with vegetables seeing a sharp drop. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Inflation continued to cool in June 2025, with retail inflation coming in at a 77-month low of 2.1% and wholesale inflation registering a contraction after 20 months. In both cases, easing food prices were a major driver of falling inflation, while the drop in crude oil prices further pushed wholesale inflation down.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for June 2025 released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday, the last time that growth in the index was lower was in January 2019. The -0.13% reading in the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, was last lower in October 2023.
Within the CPI, the food and beverages category was the only main one to have seen a contraction, of 0.2%, in June 2025. This is compared to inflation of 8.4% in June 2024. This is also the eighth consecutive month of easing food inflation.
Food price trends to continue
“In the food basket, there was deflation in key items such as vegetables, pulses, spices, and meat,” noted Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist at CareEdge Ratings. “Looking ahead, food inflation is likely to remain contained, supported by healthy agricultural activity and a favourable base.”
In the fuel and light category of the CPI, inflation eased to a three-month low of 2.55% in June 2025, down from 2.8% in May 2025. What further emphasises the slow growth in retail fuel prices is that the relatively low inflation rate in June 2025 came on the back of an even lower base of -3.6% in June 2024.
While inflation in the paan, tobacco and intoxicants category remained flat at 2.4%, inflation in the housing segment inched up to 3.24% in June 2025 from 3.16% the previous month.
Dropping crude rates
In the WPI, the food articles category saw prices contract by 3.75% in June 2025, down from 11.1% inflation in June of last year. The overall food group in the WPI, which looks at food in the primary articles category as well as in the manufactured products category, also contracted 0.3% in June 2025.
The other category that witnessed a significant easing in wholesale prices was the crude petroleum and natural gas category. Prices contracted 12.3% in June 2025, the tenth consecutive month of contractions, of which the last three have been double-digit contractions.
Published – July 14, 2025 12:41 pm IST
