India's Retail Inflation Rises to 6.09% in October 2026, Highest in Two Years

India's retail inflation rose to 6.09% in October 2026, its highest level in two years, crossing the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper tolerance limit of 6%. 

Inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), stood at 5.54% in September, according to news reports citing data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on Thursday. 

This is the first time inflation has crossed the 6% limit under the new CPI series. It has increased for 12 consecutive months since reaching 0.04% in October 2025.  

The index rose 0.51% sequentially to 110.05 in October from 109.49 a month earlier. A higher base of comparison also contributed to the increase. 

Food Prices Push Up Inflation 

Food inflation, measured by the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), increased to 8.94% in October from 7.74% in September. Onion prices rose 116.22%, compared with 108.13% in the previous month. Garlic inflation increased to 60.74%, while lemon prices rose 47.30%. 

Prices of some vegetables continued to fall. Potato recorded deflation of 14.24%, while cauliflower prices declined 10.57%. Brinjal and cabbage also reported negative inflation. 

Price Increases Across Other Categories 

Inflation increased in 11 of the 12 major CPI divisions. Restaurants and accommodation services recorded inflation of 10.06%, up from 9.36% in September. Transport inflation rose to 5.84% from 5.01%, while clothing and footwear recorded 4.96%. 

Rural inflation increased to 6.63% from 6.08%, while urban inflation rose to 5.41% from 4.88%. Tamil Nadu reported the highest retail inflation among major states at 7.29%, followed by Telangana at 7.26% and Andhra Pradesh at 7.25%. 

RBI's December Policy Meeting in Focus 

The inflation data comes after the RBI raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%. Its Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled to meet from December 2 to 4. Economists expect another rate increase as food prices remain high. 

Concerns over the monsoon, lower cultivation in several crops and the rabi sowing outlook are also expected to affect food prices in the coming months. 

Read More: RBI Clarifies Existing CTS Cheque Books Will Remain Valid After December 31, 2026! 

Conclusion  

With retail inflation reaching a two-year high, price pressures continued across food and several other categories. The RBI's December policy meeting will take place against this backdrop.

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