Retail inflation inches up to 2.07% in August; food inflation at -0.69%

August CPI-based inflation: The food inflation for August stood at -0.69 per cent, rising 107 basis points, as compared to July

India’s retail inflation, measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), rose to 2.07 per cent in August, from 1.61 per cent in July, according to the data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Friday.

Food inflation rises in August

The food inflation for August stood at -0.69 per cent, rising 107 basis points compared to July.

 

Food inflation in rural areas increased slightly, moving to -0.70 per cent in August, from -1.74 per cent in July. Similarly, it increased for urban areas to -0.58 per cent in August, from -1.90 per cent during the same period last month.

 

 

According to the report, the increase in food inflation was attributed to rising prices of vegetables, meat and fish, oil and fats, and eggs.

 

In August, rural inflation inched up to 1.69 per cent from 1.18 per cent in July, whereas the urban inflation increased to 2.47 per cent in August, compared with 2.10 per cent during the last month.

State-wise retail inflation

Kerala recorded the highest combined inflation in August at 9.04 per cent, far ahead of Karnataka (3.81 per cent), followed by Jammu & Kashmir (3.75 per cent), Punjab (3.51 per cent), and Uttarakhand (2.90 per cent).

 

In contrast, several states, including Assam and Odisha, experienced negative inflation, meaning overall prices fell compared with a year earlier.

Sector-wise CPI inflation for August

Among other sectors, health inflation was the highest at 4.40 per cent, easing from 4.57 per cent in July. Here is the inflation rate for other sectors:

• Housing inflation in August stood at 3.09 per cent, marginally lower than 3.17 per cent in July. This index is calculated only for urban areas.
• Inflation in transport and communication eased to 1.94 per cent in August from 2.12 per cent in July.
• Fuel and light inflation fell to 2.43 per cent in August 2025, compared to 2.67 per cent in July.