The Consumer Price Index breached the Reserve Bank of India's upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent for the first time in two years.
India's retail inflation rose to 6.09 per cent in October 2026, up from 5.54 per cent in September, according to government data released on Thursday. This marks the highest level for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) since October 2024, according to reports by ANI, News18 and The Times of India.
The figure exceeds the 6 per cent upper limit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) tolerance band. The central bank aims to maintain inflation at a 4 per cent target within a 2-6 per cent range.
Food inflation accelerated to 8.94 per cent in October from 7.74 per cent in September. Onion prices saw the highest increase at 116.22 per cent, while garlic, ginger and lemon prices rose by 60.74 per cent, 48.32 per cent and 47.30 per cent respectively.
Rural inflation reached 6.63 per cent, while the urban rate was 5.41 per cent. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation noted that the October reading represents the 12th consecutive monthly increase in CPI inflation.
Radhika Rao, Senior Economist at DBS Bank, said the data reinforces expectations of a second successive rate hike in December. Upasna Bhardwaj, chief economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank, also expected the RBI to hike rates by an additional 50 basis points in FY27.
The inflation figures will serve as an input for the RBI's monetary policy committee meeting scheduled for December 2-4.
