Higher vegetable prices push retail inflation to 9.84%

Retail inflation rose marginally to 9.84 per cent in September, mainly due to a hike in food prices, particularly of vegetables.

Retail inflation measured in terms of consumer price index (CPI) was at 9.52 per cent in August.

Retail inflation for rural and urban areas in September stood at 9.71 per cent and 9.93 per cent, respectively. The same was 8.93 per cent and 10.32 per cent (revised figures) in August.

Vegetable price rose by 34.93 per cent in September as compared to 26.48 per cent in August.

Similarly, fruit prices shot up by 9.33 per cent to 5.19 per cent. Inflation in the food and beverages segment rose by 11.44 per cent in the month under review as against 11.06 per cent in August.

For CPI inflation, price data are collected from select towns by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) and from select villages by the Department of Posts.

Earlier in the day, the official data revealed that the inflation measured in terms of wholesale price index rose for the fourth straight month to 6.46 per cent in September, mainly due to higher prices of onion and other vegetables and fruits.