6.21%, retail inflation at 14-month high in October

Driven by a sharp increase in prices of food products, particularly the vegetables, India’s retail inflation touched a 14-month high in October. The inflation based on the consumer price index increased to 6.21 per cent in October, up from 5.49 per cent in September, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation on Tuesday.

In August 2023, the retail inflation had risen to 6.83 per cent. The data also showed higher inflation in rural areas at 6.68 per cent as compared to 5.62 per cent in urban regions.

Mainly driven by vegetable prices

The increase was driven by the prices of food products, particularly vegetables rising above 42 per cent on a year-on-year basis.

“The inflation was significantly higher than our estimates in October. The increase was driven by the prices of food products, particularly the vegetables rising above 42 per cent on a year-on-year basis. While the components of the core saw some uptick, the current inflation trajectory is guided by the food inflation,” said Sujan Hajra, chief economist & executive director, Anand Rathi Shares and Stock Brokers. The food inflation (Consumer Food Price Index, CFPI) rose sharply to 10.87 per cent in October from 9.2 per cent in the preceding month. The sharp uptick was led by an acceleration in the prices of vegetables (42.18 per cent), fruits (8.43 per cent) and oils & fats (9.51 per cent).

Rural areas experienced a CFPI inflation rate of 10.69 per cent, while urban regions saw a slightly higher rate of 11.09 per cent.