Onion, Garlic Prices Surge As Retail Inflation Hits 4.82% In August

India's retail inflation rose to 4.82% in August, up from 4.45% in July, as food prices pushed the headline number higher for a fourth straight month, according to provisional data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Monday.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) reading has now climbed steadily since May, when it stood at 3.93%. It moved to 4.38% in June before touching 4.45% in July and 4.82% in August, MoSPI data showed.

Food Prices Drive The Rise

Food inflation, tracked through the Consumer Food Price Index (CFPI), increased to 5.95% in August from 5.52% in July. The rural food inflation rate came in higher at 6.13%, while urban areas recorded 5.64%.

Both rural and urban inflation rose in tandem with the food-driven trend. Rural inflation climbed to 5.23% in August from 4.84% a month earlier, while urban inflation went up to 4.31% from 3.96%.

Several kitchen staples saw sharp price jumps during the month. Onion inflation surged to 48.27% in August, more than double the 22.54% recorded in July. Garlic inflation rose to 43.60% from 35.36%, while ginger prices climbed 73.82%, though this was lower than July's 83.57%.

Among non-food items, silver jewellery recorded the steepest inflation at 107.11%, MoSPI data showed, while gold, diamond and platinum jewellery inflation stood at 35.53%.

Not all food items turned costlier, however. Tomato prices fell 31.09% compared with a year earlier, and potato prices declined 13.14%. Lady's finger recorded a 5.41% price drop, while parwal, patal and kundru were cheaper by 3.60%.

Other Categories Also See Price Pressure

Beyond food, personal care, social protection and miscellaneous goods and services recorded the highest inflation among broad categories at 15.17%. Restaurants and accommodation services followed at 8.38%, while paan, tobacco and intoxicants recorded 4.71%.

Transport inflation stood at 4.60% for the month. Within this category, transport services for goods saw inflation of 14.64% and operation of personal transport equipment rose 7.40%, even as purchase of vehicles recorded deflation of 4.38%.

Clothing and footwear inflation was recorded at 3.56%, while housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels stood at 2.61%. Health inflation remained comparatively subdued at 1.34%.

Telangana Tops State-Wise Inflation

Among states and Union Territories, Telangana recorded the highest combined retail inflation at 6.27%, followed closely by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu at 6.22%.

Tamil Nadu recorded 5.92% inflation, Puducherry stood at 5.85%, Madhya Pradesh at 5.55% and Andhra Pradesh at 5.53%. Delhi posted one of the lowest readings among larger states at 2.61%, followed by West Bengal at 3.28% and Gujarat at 4.94%.

The August figures are based on the new CPI series with base year 2024=100, MoSPI said. Data was collected from 1,407 urban markets, including online markets, and 1,465 villages across all states and Union Territories, with a 100% response rate in both rural and urban areas.