Retail inflation at almost 2-year high at 5.54%, driven by food prices surge

Retail inflation moved closer to the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent in September, rising to 5.54 per cent from 4.83 per cent in August as food prices recorded a sharper increase.

Food inflation climbed to 7.74 per cent during the month, against 5.97 per cent in August, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Monday. The September reading marked the highest inflation rate since the introduction of the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with a 2024 base year. Compared with the earlier 2012-base series, the revised index uses an updated framework to measure changes in household prices. On a comparable historical measure, inflation was at its highest level since late 2024.

The pressure was more pronounced in rural India, where retail inflation reached 6.08 per cent, up from 5.24 per cent in August. The corresponding rate for urban areas rose to 4.88 per cent from 4.31 per cent. Rural food inflation stood at 8.06 per cent, compared with 7.18 per cent in urban areas.

Among individual items, onion prices saw the steepest increase, with inflation surging to 108.09 per cent in September from 48.78 per cent in the previous month. Ginger prices rose 62.85 per cent year-on-year, while garlic inflation accelerated to 54.62 per cent. Lemon prices also saw a sharp increase, with inflation reaching 36.41 per cent, against 15.15 per cent in August. Silver jewellery recorded inflation of 87.80 per cent.

Price movements were not uniform across the basket. Potato prices remained 11.50 per cent lower than a year earlier, while tomato prices declined 8.62 per cent. Motor cars and jeeps recorded a 4.51 per cent fall, and prices of lady's finger and coconut were down 4.48 per cent and 3.99 per cent, respectively.

Beyond food, restaurants and accommodation services recorded inflation of 9.36 per cent, while the personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services category saw prices rise 13.75 per cent. Inflation in food and beverages stood at 7.36 per cent. Health recorded a comparatively modest increase of 1.40 per cent, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels registered inflation of 2.74 per cent.

Among states and Union territories, Puducherry reported the highest combined inflation at 6.86 per cent, followed by Tamil Nadu at 6.81 per cent, Odisha at 6.70 per cent, Madhya Pradesh at 6.68 per cent and Telangana at 6.64 per cent. The September figures are provisional. The next CPI release, covering October 2026, is scheduled for November 12.