India's Retail Inflation Rises to 6.21% in October 2024, Hitting 14-Month High

India’s retail inflation increased to 6.21% in October 2024, up from 5.49% in September, mainly due to rising food prices, according to official government data released on Tuesday. This marks the highest inflation rate in 14 months, surpassing the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) upper limit of 6% for the first time in over a year. A year ago, in October 2023, the inflation rate was lower at 4.87%.

Inflation is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which tracks the price changes of goods and services commonly used by consumers. The rise in food prices, especially for items like vegetables, pulses, and oils, has been a major driver of this increase.

Meanwhile, data released on Tuesday also showed that India’s industrial production grew by 3% in September 2024. This growth was driven by improvements in the manufacturing sector, compared to a small contraction of 0.1% in August. However, industrial output grew at a much higher rate of 6.4% in September 2023.

These updates give a mixed picture of India's economic health—while inflation is rising, there is some positive news in industrial growth.

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