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India’s headline retail inflation rose to 5.54% in September from 4.83% in August, driven partly by a sharp increase in food prices and an unfavourable base effect. The rise came days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) raised interest rates for the first time in more than three-and-a-half years.
Food inflation climbed to 7.74% in September from 5.97% in the previous month, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday (October 12). Based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), inflation under the new series, which uses 2024 as the base year, continued to reach fresh highs.
Onion prices more than double
Onions recorded the steepest annual price increase among the items highlighted by the ministry. Onion inflation surged to 108.09% from 48.78% in August, meaning prices were more than double their level a year earlier.
Garlic inflation accelerated to 54.62% from 43.60%, while lemon inflation rose to 36.41% from 15.15%. Ginger prices were 62.85% higher than a year earlier, although the increase moderated from August’s 73.82%.
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Some vegetables remained cheaper than a year ago, but the declines narrowed. Tomato prices fell 8.62% year-on-year, compared with a 31.09% decline in August. Potato prices declined 11.50%, against a 13.15% fall previously.
Outside food, silver jewellery prices rose 87.80% year-on-year, easing from 106.81% in August. The category covering personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded inflation of 13.75%, the highest among the 12 main consumption divisions in the CPI.
Inflation in restaurants and accommodation services stood at 9.36%, while transport recorded 5.01% and education services 3.94%, the release showed.
Rural inflation crosses 6%
The price rise was sharper in rural areas, where headline inflation increased to 6.08% from 5.24% in August. Urban inflation rose to 4.88% from 4.31%.
The gap was also visible in food prices. Rural food inflation climbed to 8.06% from 6.17%, compared with an increase to 7.18% from 5.64% in urban areas, according to MoSPI.
The overall CPI index increased to 109.49 from 108.74 in August, while the food price index rose to 112.17 from 110.73. These movements show that price levels increased during September, alongside the acceleration in annual inflation.
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Tamil Nadu tops major states
Among states with populations exceeding 50 lakh, Tamil Nadu recorded the highest headline inflation at 6.81%, followed by Odisha at 6.70% and Madhya Pradesh at 6.68%. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh registered 6.64% and 6.29%, respectively.
Tamil Nadu also recorded food inflation of 10.62%. Food inflation stood at 9.58% in Odisha, 9% in Karnataka and 8.91% in Maharashtra, highlighting considerable variation across states.
TOPICSCPI Inflationfood inflationThis article was first uploaded on October twelve, twenty twenty-six, at thirty minutes past four in the afternoon. © IE Online Media Services (P) Ltd