Cooling food prices helped limit India's wholesale price index (WPI) inflation in February, perhaps giving additional breathing room to the nation's central bank.

India's WPI rose 2.38% on year in February, and gained a scant 0.06% from January, reported the Ministry of Commerce and industry (MCI) on Monday.

The WPI had risen by 2.31% on year in January.

India's WPI measures product prices when sold in bulk by wholesale businesses or at the factory gate to other enterprises, and does not gauge prices at retail, as paid by consumers.

The WPI is considered one leading indicator of later changes in the consumer prices index (CPI), as retailers try to recoup cost hikes or pass on savings.

In February, food prices slightly cooled, helping to moderate the overall WPI. The food WPI actually declined 1.25% on month in February, though it remained up 5.94% on year, reported the MCI.

Fuel and power bills posted down 0.71% in February on year, also tempering to overall index.

India's WPI accelerated during the pandemic era, striking an apex inflation rate of 16.63% on year in May of 2022. The reported rate eased through 2023, and by 2024 and 2025, the WPI logged rates of inflation between 2% and 3%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has a 4% target rate of inflation, plus or minus 2%, on the nation's CPI.

The RBI lowered its key repo rate to 6.25% from 6.50% during its February meeting, marking the central bank's first rate cut since May 2020.

India's inflation rate, as measured by the CPI, dropped to 3.62% on year in February, down from 4.26% in January.

The February WPI report of moderate inflation could give comfort to the RBI for further rate cuts.