Retail inflation rises to 0.71% in November

Retail inflation inched up to 0.71 per cent in November on rising prices of vegetables, protein-rich items, and fuel, government data showed on Friday.

The consumer price index (CPI)-based retail inflation had fallen to a record low of 0.25 per cent in October, mainly due to lower prices helped by GST rate cuts and a favourable base.

According to data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO), deflation in food items was 3.91 per cent in November against 5.02 per cent in October.

The rise in headline and food inflation during November 2025 is mainly attributed to an increase in inflation of vegetables, eggs, meat and fish, spices, fuel and light, the NSO said.

Fuel and light inflation for November was 2.32 per cent against 1.98 per cent in October 2025.

The Reserve Bank, earlier this month, significantly lowered the inflation projection for the current fiscal to 2 per cent from 2.6 per cent estimated earlier, as the economy continues to witness rapid disinflation.

The RBI had cut key policy interest rates by 25 bps to 5.25 per cent, saying that the Indian economy is in a "rare Goldilocks period" marked by high growth and low inflation.

The Reserve Bank last week raised the FY26 GDP growth projection to 7.3 per cent, from its earlier estimate of 6.8 per cent. India recorded an 8 per cent growth in the September quarter, and 7.8 per cent in the June quarter.