India`s retail CPI inflation rises 4.82 per cent in August

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Retail inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 4.82 per cent in August driven by higher food and transport prices, according to data released by the Ministry of Statistics on Monday.

The consumer price index (CPI) based retail inflation was 4.45 per cent in July.

The rural inflation during August stood at 5.23, and the urban inflation was at 4.31. In the previous month, rural inflation stood at 4.84 per cent. The urban inflation was at 3.96 per cent in July.

CPI within RBI’s tolerance band

The CPI inflation is within the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) tolerance band of 2 to 6 per cent, with 4 per cent as the midpoint. During the monetary policy review last month, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra had observed that fuel prices had pushed the headline inflation but had kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent to boost growth.

RBI has projected the CPI inflation for 2026-27 at 5 per cent, with the second quarter at 4.7 per cent, third quarter at 5.9 per cent, and the last quarter at 5.5 per cent, according to news agency PTI.

Food inflation

Food inflation in August increased to 5.95 per cent compared to 5.52 in the preceding month. The prices of ginger increased 73.82 per cent, garlic surged 43.60 per cent and onions rose 48.27 per cent during the month. The prices of tomatoes declined 31.09 per cent during the month while potatoes dipped 13.14 per cent and ladies’ fingers and Parwal/patal and kundru witnessed a fall of 5.41 per cent and 3.60 per cent, respectively.

Jewellery prices rise

Silver jewellery recorded the highest price rises across categories in August, posting a 107.11 per cent rise in prices and gold/diamond/platinum jewellery too became expensive, with their prices increasing 35.53 per cent. Motor car and jeep were the only segment among the non-food category to be featured in the top five low inflation segments for the month. They turned cheaper in August, with 6.72 per cent decline in prices.

State-wise inflation

The CPI inflation in Maharashtra was at 4.78 per cent. The states with some of the highest inflation during the month include Andhra Pradesh (5.53 per cent), Karnataka (5.23 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (5.55 per cent), Odisha (5.52 per cent), Rajasthan (5.24 per cent), Tamil Nadu (5.92 per cent), Telangana (6.27 per cent), and Uttar Pradesh (5.09 per cent).