Retail inflation rises to 6.09% in October; food inflation accelerates to 8.94%

Retail inflation rose to 6.09% in October, breaching the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper tolerance limit of 6% for the first time in two years.

The year-on-year retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stood at 5.54% in September.

Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), accelerated to 8.94% in October from 7.74% in the preceding month, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Thursday.

The RBI has been mandated to maintain retail inflation at 4%, with a tolerance band of 2% on either side.

The data showed that retail inflation in rural areas stood at 6.63% in October, compared with 5.41% in urban areas.

Food inflation was higher in rural areas at 9.09%, against 8.68% in urban areas.

Among food items, onion prices continued to witness the highest inflation, rising 116.22% year-on-year in October, compared with 108.13% in September.

Garlic prices increased 60.74%, while ginger prices rose 48.32% during the month. Lemon prices recorded an inflation rate of 47.30%, up from 36.41% in September.

On the other hand, potato prices declined 14.24% in October, while cauliflower prices fell 10.57%. Coconut and brinjal prices declined 5.60% and 3.34%, respectively.

The government has released the CPI data with a new base year of 2024, replacing the earlier base year of 2012.