Inflation Hits 5.54%: Is Your Monthly Budget Safe?
Retail inflation reached 5.54% in September 2026, up from 4.83% in August. Food prices rose 7.74%. Onion, ginger, garlic and silver jewellery got much costlier, while potato and tomato were cheaper than a year ago. These figures are provisional.
Every Indian household that buys food and everyday goods, especially rural families facing 6.08% inflation, plus savers and borrowers watching how prices move.
Onions cost over double last year's price, while overall prices rose 5.54%.
Key Takeaways
Check your state's inflation figure in the state-wise table to see how your region compares with the 5.54% national number.
Download item-wise price indices from the MoSPI eSankhyiki portal to see how the things you buy have moved.
Note that the next monthly inflation release, for October 2026, is due on 12 November, or the following working day if that is a holiday.
Example: 5.54% on ₹10,000
- Amount
- ₹10,000
- yearly price rise on ₹10,000 of household spending
- ₹554
Illustrative amount.
Retail inflation reached 5.54% in September 2026, up from 4.83% in August. Food prices rose 7.74%. Onion, ginger, garlic and silver jewellery got much costlier, while potato and tomato were cheaper than a year ago. These figures are provisional.
Here's what happened: Overall retail inflation was 5.54% in September 2026, compared with 4.83% in August. The September figure is provisional. Food prices rose 7.74% year on year. Village inflation was 6.08%, while city inflation was 4.88%. Onion rose 108.09%, silver jewellery 87.80%, ginger 62.85% and garlic 54.62%. Potato fell 11.50% and tomato fell 8.62%.
What you should do: Check your state's inflation figure in the state-wise table to see how your region compares with the 5.54% national number. Download item-wise price indices from the MoSPI eSankhyiki portal to see how the things you buy have moved. Note that the next monthly inflation release, for October 2026, is due on 12 November, or the following working day if that is a holiday.
Pro tip: State and item-level indices can rest on thin price samples, so treat one item's sharp jump as a rough guide, not an exact measure.
Written by GoCredit from the official Press Information Bureau, Government of India document cited below. Every figure is checked against that document. This is general information, not legal or financial advice.
For readers weighing their credit and loan options, our personal loan guide and CIBIL score resources put this update in context.
Questions people ask
What is India's retail inflation for September 2026?
Retail inflation was 5.54% in September 2026 compared with a year earlier. This is provisional. August's final figure was 4.83%. Rural inflation was 6.08% and urban inflation was 4.88%.
Which items became most expensive in September 2026?
Onion saw the sharpest rise at 108.09%, followed by silver jewellery at 87.80%, ginger at 62.85%, garlic at 54.62% and lemon at 36.41%.
When is the next inflation data due?
Inflation data for October 2026 is due on 12 November 2026. If that date is a holiday, it will come out on the following working day.
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- [1]“PRESS RELEASE OF CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ON BASE 2024=100 FOR SEPTEMBER, 2026” Press Information Bureau, Government of India · 19 Oct 2026
Official source. GoCredit wrote this explainer from the document above, and every figure in it is checked against that document automatically. The worked example is calculated by GoCredit. How we write news
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