EconomyInflation
Retail inflation rises to 4.82% in August, the seventh straight monthly increase
Food prices pushed CPI inflation up from 4.45% in July, with rural inflation well above urban. September data on the new 2024-base series is due on 12 October.
Key points
- CPI inflation was 4.82% in August 2026 (provisional), up from 4.45% in July and 2.74% in January.
- Food inflation rose to 5.95% from 5.52%.
- Rural inflation was 5.23% and urban inflation 4.31%.
- Restaurants and accommodation (8.38%) and personal care and miscellaneous goods (15.17%) were the fastest-rising divisions.
Retail inflation rose to 4.82% in August 2026 from 4.45% in July, according to provisional data released by the National Statistics Office on 14 September. It was the seventh monthly rise in a row, from 2.74% in January.
The figures are from the new Consumer Price Index series with base year 2024=100, which replaced the 2012 series this year.
Food drives the rise
The Consumer Food Price Index rose 5.95% in August from a year earlier, up from 5.52% in July. The food and beverages division, a slightly broader measure, rose 5.66%.
Inflation was higher in villages than in towns. Rural CPI rose 5.23% and urban CPI 4.31%. Rural food inflation was 6.13%, against 5.64% in urban areas.
The gap has been building all year. In January the two were almost level, at 2.73% rural and 2.75% urban. Rural inflation has run ahead in every month since February, and the difference widened to almost a full percentage point by August. The all-India index stood at 108.74 in August, up from 107.95 in July.
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Jan | 2.74% |
| Feb | 3.21% |
| Mar | 3.40% |
| Apr | 3.48% |
| May | 3.93% |
| Jun | 4.38% |
| Jul | 4.45% |
| Aug | 4.82% |
What else rose
The new series groups spending into 12 divisions. In August, the fastest increases were in personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services (15.17%) and restaurants and accommodation services (8.38%).
Transport rose 4.60%. Within it, the cost of operating personal vehicles rose 7.40% and transport services for goods 14.64%. Electricity, gas and other fuels rose 3.09%, and house rents 2.27%.
Health (1.34%), recreation (1.74%) and information and communication (2.01%) rose the least.
August 2026 CPI
- 4.82%headline inflation (July: 4.45%)
- 5.95%food inflation (July: 5.52%)
- 5.23%rural inflation
- 4.31%urban inflation
How the RBI reads it
The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee cited the August data when it raised the repo rate to 5.50% on 7 October. Its resolution says the rise was driven by food and fuel, and that core inflation, which leaves out food and fuel, rose to 4.2%. Excluding precious metals, core inflation was 2.9%.
The RBI said about 37% of the CPI basket by weight showed inflation above 4% in August. It projects inflation at 4.9% for July-September, rising to 6.0% in October-December, and 5.2% for 2026-27 as a whole. Its target is 4%, with a tolerance band of 2% to 6%.
About the new series
The 2024-base index uses spending patterns from the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24. It covers 358 items, up from 299, and food and beverages carry a weight of 36.75%. Prices are collected from 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages.
Because the base and the basket changed, the new figures should not be compared directly with headlines from the old 2012 series.
What comes next
MoSPI will release CPI data for September on 12 October 2026. The August figure is provisional and may be revised in that release.
The documents
- Press Release of CPI for August 2026 (base 2024=100)Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (NSO), 14 September 2026
- First Press Release of CPI with base 2024=100Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (via PIB), 12 February 2026
- Monetary Policy Statement, 2026-27: Resolution of the MPC, October 5 to 7, 2026Reserve Bank of India, 7 October 2026