Mayur MohtaCostlier food pushed food inflation up to 8.94 per cent in October from 7.74 per cent in September. That added fresh pressure on retail inflation across India.
Retail inflation in India jumped to 6.09 per cent in October. That pushed it past the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent. It is the first time in two years that the limit has been crossed. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) shared the numbers on Thursday. Higher food prices did most of the damage.
Retail inflation tracks how fast everyday prices rise for common buyers. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation rate stood at 5.54 per cent in September. October’s reading is also the highest since the new CPI series with base year 2024 began. The RBI aims to keep inflation at 4 per cent. It allows a tolerance band of 2 per cent on either side of that target.
Food prices push retail inflation higher in October
Food inflation climbed to 8.94 per cent in October. The Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI) showed it at 7.74 per cent in September.
Onions recorded the sharpest rise among food items. Onion inflation hit 116.22 per cent in October, up from 108.13 per cent in September. Garlic inflation rose to 60.74 per cent from 54.62 per cent. Ginger prices went up by 48.32 per cent.
Lemon prices saw inflation of 47.30 per cent, against 36.41 per cent a month earlier. Silver jewellery also recorded high inflation at 52.39 per cent. That was still lower than the 87.82 per cent seen in September.
Some items did get cheaper. Potato prices kept falling, with deflation at 14.24 per cent in October. Cauliflower prices dropped 10.57 per cent. Coconut prices declined 5.60 per cent. Brinjal and cabbage saw deflation of 3.34 per cent and 1.92 per cent, respectively.
Villages feel the pinch more than cities
Rural areas saw higher inflation than urban centres in October. Rural inflation rose to 6.63 per cent from 6.08 per cent in September. Urban inflation increased to 5.41 per cent from 4.88 per cent.
Food inflation stood at 9.09 per cent in rural areas. In urban areas, it was 8.68 per cent.
Other categories also ran hot. Restaurants and accommodation services saw inflation of 10.24 per cent in rural areas and 9.90 per cent in urban areas. Personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded 10.84 per cent in rural areas and 9.24 per cent in urban areas.
How inflation looked across the big states
The state data covers states with a population of more than 5 million. Inflation trends varied from region to region. Price pressure stayed high in several states. Food inflation added to the rise in the headline rate.
Andhra Pradesh recorded rural inflation of 7.81 per cent and urban inflation of 6.37 per cent. Karnataka’s inflation stood at 7.54 per cent in rural areas and 6.60 per cent in urban areas. Kerala recorded 7.01 per cent and 5.58 per cent, respectively.
Maharashtra’s inflation stood at 6.86 per cent in rural areas and 5.20 per cent in urban areas. Uttar Pradesh recorded rural inflation of 7.20 per cent and urban inflation of 4.88 per cent. In Delhi, inflation stood at 5.24 per cent in rural areas and 3.77 per cent in urban areas.
Akshay Didwaniya
Aditya Didwaniya
Pratik Agrawal