Retail inflation quickens marginally to 0.7% in Nov. 2025, still second-lowest since Jan. 2012

Retail inflation in India quickened marginally to 0.7% in November 2025, up from the historic low of 0.25% in October 2025, with a continued contraction in food prices offsetting a marginal acceleration in fuel inflation. November’s inflation rate is the second-lowest ever recorded in the current series of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Inflation as measured by the CPI, the latest data for which the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released on Friday (December 12, 2025), has slowed in seven of the first eight months of this financial year. 

The food and beverages category saw prices contract by 2.8% in November 2025, as compared to a high base of 8.2% in November of last year, and a contraction of 3.7% in October 2025. 

“The factors driving inflation downwards have been the same: base effect and decline in prices of vegetables and pulses,” Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at the Bank of Baroda said. “In particular, potatoes, onions and tomatoes have witnessed decline leading to food inflation falling by 3.9%. In the food basket, edible oils witnessed sharp increases though the topline number was down to 7.9%. Mustard and coconut oil were the main drivers of inflation here.”

This contraction in food prices offset the impact of a quickening in fuel inflation to 2.3% in November 2025 compared to 2% in October, and a contraction of 1.8% in November of last year. 

Inflation in the pan, tobacco, and intoxicants category quickened marginally in November 2025 to 3% from 2.9% in October. The clothing and footwear category, on the other hand, saw inflation ease marginally to 1.5% from 1.7% over the same period. 

Inflation in the housing category remained virtually unchanged at 2.95% in November 2025 as compared to 2.96% in October.