India’s headline inflation rate climbed to 5.54% in September 2026 from 4.83% in August, marking its highest level since October 2024 and overshooting market expectations of 5.4%. This was the 11th consecutive month of rising inflation, bringing price growth close to the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance threshold of 6%. The acceleration was driven largely by adverse weather conditions and geopolitical shocks that pushed up global oil prices, raising the cost of key components in the consumer basket.
Food prices rose 5.97% year-on-year, with onion prices more than doubling and sharp increases also recorded for ginger (62.9%) and garlic (54.6%). At the same time, higher international oil prices, coupled with a weakening rupee, pushed transportation inflation up to 5.01%. Strong price growth was also seen in services, notably restaurants and accommodation (9.36%) and personal care and social protection (13.75%). On a month-on-month basis, the Consumer Price Index increased by 0.69%.
