Retail inflation rises to 5.54% in Sep as food inflation zooms to 7.74%

Retail inflation hit nearly a two-year high of 5.54% in September, propelled by a surge in food prices, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The increase in food inflation to 7.74% marked the highest rate since the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series with a 2024 base year was introduced.

Rural areas experienced even steeper inflation, with retail inflation reaching 6.08%, up from 5.24% in August, while urban areas saw a rise to 4.88%, from 4.31%. Among individual food items, onion prices surged to 108.09% in September, up from 48.78% the previous month, while ginger prices rose 62.85% and garlic prices accelerated to 54.62%.

Other notable increases included lemon prices at 36.41% and silver jewellery at 87.80%. While some prices declined, such as potatoes (-11.50%) and tomatoes (-8.62%), motor cars and jeeps fell 4.51%, and lady finger and coconut prices dropped 4.48% and 3.99%, respectively. Food and beverage inflation stood at 7.36%, while health inflation increased moderately by 1.40%.

The highest inflation rates were recorded in Puducherry (6.86%), Tamil Nadu (6.81%), Odisha (6.70%), Madhya Pradesh (6.68%), and Telangana (6.64%). The September figures were provisional, with the next CPI release scheduled for November 12.