September Retail CPI Up to 5.54% in India; Rural Areas See Higher Inflation

According to provisional figures released by the Indian government on Monday, the country's retail Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September 2026 stood at 5.54% year‑on‑year, up from August's finalized 4.83%.

The rural‑urban split reveals a sharper price rise in the countryside, where inflation reached 6.08%, compared with a more moderate 4.88% in urban locations.

Food inflation contributed significantly to the overall increase, running at 7.74% across the nation. Rural food price inflation was even higher at 8.06%, while urban food inflation measured 7.18%.

Among commodities that witnessed price drops were potatoes (‑11.50%), tomatoes (‑8.62%), motor vehicles and live stock (‑4.51%), okra (‑4.48%) and coconut (‑3.99%).

Conversely, the most pronounced price spikes were recorded for onions (+108.09%), silver jewellery (+87.80%), ginger (+62.85%), garlic (+54.62%) and lemon (+36.41%).

The five states with the steepest retail inflation rates were Tamil Nadu (6.81%), Odisha (6.70%), Madhya Pradesh (6.68%), Telangana (6.64%) and Andhra Pradesh (6.29%).

Price data were gathered from a comprehensive network comprising 1,407 urban markets—including online trading platforms—and 1,465 villages, achieving a full 100% response rate.

The Ministry has scheduled the release of October 2026 retail inflation numbers for 12 November 2026, with a possible shift to the next working day if the appointed date is a holiday. The wholesale price index for September will be published on the following Tuesday.