{
  "id": 14034135,
  "title": "At 5.5%, retail inflation hits 9-month high on food prices",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/at-5-5-retail-inflation-hits-9-month-high-on-food-prices",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-12T19:53:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/at-5-5-retail-inflation-hits-9-month-high-on-food-prices/articleshow/134901984.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Retail inflation in India soared to a nine-month high of 5.5% in September, driven by a surge in food prices, according to data released by the National Statistics Office on Monday. This marked the first time that retail inflation breached the 5% threshold under the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) series released earlier this year, remaining above the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) 4% target for four consecutive months. Despite the headline figure still being within the RBI's tolerance band of 2-6%, food inflation alone was recorded at 7.7% in September, up from 6% in August. Onions experienced the steepest price increase, rising by 108% compared to 49% for garlic and 36% for lemons. While some vegetables provided relief, with prices of potatoes, tomatoes, and ladyfingers falling, rural inflation tended to be higher due to the higher weight of food items in the basket compared to urban areas. The southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Odisha recorded higher inflation rates. The Bank of Baroda chief economist attributed the transmission of higher wholesale price index (WPI) into CPI to the upcoming months and expressed concern about the third quarter where inflation could peak at around 6%. The upcoming December policy meeting by the RBI is expected to warrant another rate hike to address the situation.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}