New Delhi, Aug. 15 -- India's wholesale inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), saw a marginal dip to 9.78% year-on-year (y-o-y) in July from 9.87% in June, according to data released by the ministry of commerce and industry on Friday. Despite the moderation, experts remain wary of geopolitical headwinds globally and below-normal rainfall domestically. "The moderation was driven by lower prices of mineral oils and crude petroleum & natural gas, reflecting the sequential softening in global energy prices in the month of July," said Rajani Sinha, chief economist at CareEdge Ratings. Across the three major categories-primary articles, fuel and power, and manufactured products-the highest inflation was recorded by the fuel and power category at 20.05%. Inflation in this category reduced sharply from 27.41% in June but still remains elevated compared to pre-war levels when the series recorded deflation from May 2024 to February 2026, the month before the war started. The other two categories, primary articles and manufactured products, recorded inflation of 8.52% and 8.29%, rising from 7.0% and 7.48% in June, respectively. Within fuel and power, mineral oils remained the dominant source of inflation, recording 32.4% y-o-y inflation, while crude petroleum and natural gas prices were 27% higher than a year ago. This inflation rate is higher than pre-war levels-mineral oils had recorded deflation from January 2025 to February 2026....