India’s retail inflation rises to 3.21% in February as food prices tick up

India’s retail inflation edged up to 3.21% in February, rising 47 basis points year-on-year, driven largely by food prices, according to data released by the government on Thursday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation stood at 2.74% in January 2026.

According to the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, rural inflation in February was 3.37%, while urban inflation came in at 3.02%.

Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), rose to 3.47% during the month, compared with 2.13% in January.

Rural and urban food inflation stood at 3.46% and 3.48%, respectively.

Among key categories, housing inflation stood at 2.12% during the month, with rural housing inflation at 2.43% and urban at 2%.

At the all-India level, items that recorded the lowest inflation included garlic (-31.09%), onion (-28.20%), potato (-18.46%), arhar dal (-16%) and litchi (-11.52%).

Meanwhile, items registering the highest inflation included silver jewellery (160.84%), gold/diamond/platinum jewellery (48.16%), copra (46.16%), tomato (45.29%) and cauliflower (43.77%).

The CPI index for February stood at 104.57, compared with 104.45 in January.

The CPI data for March 2026 will be released on April 13, 2026, the ministry said.