Retail Inflation at 4.82 Percent in August 2026: CPI Data

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the Consumer Price Index for August 2026. Retail inflation for the month was 4.82 per cent. The figure is a provisional estimate. It is measured year on year, that is August 2026 against August 2025. The index rests on the new base year, in which 2024 equals 100. This is the headline number that the Reserve Bank watches when it sets policy, so the monthly release is followed closely.

Villages saw prices rise faster than cities

The rural inflation rate was 5.23 per cent. The urban rate was lower, at 4.31 per cent. Rural India therefore faced the sharper price rise during the month. The same pattern showed up in the food series as well, so the rural figure is the larger one in both measures this month.

Food inflation at 5.95 per cent

Food prices are tracked separately by the Consumer Food Price Index. Its year on year rate for August 2026 was 5.95 per cent. Rural food inflation stood at 6.13 per cent. Urban food inflation stood at 5.64 per cent. Food inflation was thus higher than the general rate of price rise for the month.

Which items rose and which fell

The release also names the items at each end of the range. Silver jewellery topped the list of key items with high inflation. Ginger came next, followed by onion, then garlic, and then jewellery of gold, diamond and platinum. At the other end, tomato recorded the steepest fall in price among key items. Potato came next, followed by motor car and jeep, then lady's finger, and then parwal and kundru. Two of the five fastest rising items were forms of jewellery.

How the data is gathered

Field staff of the Field Operations Division of the National Statistical Office collect prices every week on a roster. They cover 1407 urban markets, online markets included, and 1465 villages, spread across all States and Union Territories. During August 2026 the response rate was 100 per cent in both rural and urban markets. State level figures are given for States with a population above 50 lakh as counted in the Census of 2011. The index for September 2026 will be released on 12 October 2026.

The numbers at a glance