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India's inflation breaches RBI's red line in October

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The acceleration in consumer prices marked the twelfth straight month of worsening inflation across India, with food inflation climbing sharply to 8.94%. Beyond groceries, service sectors like dining and personal care are experiencing double-digit price increases. Headline inflation has now surpassed the Reserve Bank of India's 4% medium-term target for four consecutive months, prompting the bank to elevate its annual forecast to an average of 5.2%. Consequently, economists expect the monetary authority to deliver another 25 basis point rate hike at its upcoming policy meeting to bring the repo rate to 5.75%.

Key points

  • Rural households are enduring heavier price pressures than urban areas, with rural inflat…: Rural households are enduring heavier price pressures than urban areas, with rural inflation climbing to 6.63%.
  • The Reserve Bank of India has updated its inflation projection for the current financial…: The Reserve Bank of India has updated its inflation projection for the current financial year to an average of 5.2%.
  • Economists anticipate an upcoming interest rate hike of 25 basis points in December to cu…: Economists anticipate an upcoming interest rate hike of 25 basis points in December to curb persistent price gains.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

Listen to this article in summarized format

This marks the 12th straight month of consumer prices quickening in the country. India updated its retail inflation base year from 2012 to 2024 on February 12, 2026, modernising the basket of goods used to track price changes

The October reading shows inflation has now breached the Reserve Bank of India's target range of 2-6%. Nearly half of the economists surveyed by Reuters expected inflation to reach or exceed the 6% threshold.

Food inflation accelerated to 8.94% in October from 7.74% in September, reflecting a broad-based rise in prices of essential food items. The increase adds to household cost pressures and reinforces concerns over the persistence of food-led inflation, particularly after an uneven and deficient monsoon affected supplies of key staples. Food prices, which account for nearly 40% of India's consumer price index, remain the biggest driver of the upward pressure on retail inflation.

Onion prices have nearly doubled since the beginning of the year, while relatively less volatile protein-rich foods such as meat, milk and eggs have also become more expensive. Higher…

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