Overview
- Official NSO data put headline CPI at 0.25% year-on-year in October, well below the RBI’s 2–6% target band for the third time this quarter.
- Food inflation fell to -5.02%, with vegetables down 27.57%, pulses down 16.15%, and onions down 54.3% year-on-year.
- The government attributed the decline to the full-month impact of GST rate cuts and a favorable base effect, alongside broad falls in key food items.
- Core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, rose to about 4.49%, signaling persistent underlying price pressures.
- Union Bank of India estimates WPI at -1.42% with fuel in deflation for a 15th straight month, while state outcomes diverged from Kerala’s 8.56% to deflation in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.