CPI Edges Up: A modest increase in CPI

18 Dec 2025 , 03:09 PM

India’s CPI inflation rose modestly to 0.71% in November 2025, from 0.25% in October, marking a mild sequential rebound after a phase of broadly lower inflation every month. Despite the uptick, headline inflation remains at very low levels, having declined sharply from a peak of 5.22% in December 2024. Food, the largest component of the CPI basket (45.52% weight), continues to play a decisive role in shaping headline inflation. Other major components include miscellaneous (28.30%), housing (10.07%), and apparel (6.53%), which keep inflation momentum sensitive to food and housing trends.

Figure: CPI – A 3-year history

date	YoY (%)
Dec-2024	5.22
Jan-2025	4.26
Feb-2025	3.61
Mar-2025	3.34
Apr-2025	3.16
May-2025	2.82
Jun-2025	2.1
Jul-2025	1.61
Aug-2025	2.07
Sep-2025	1.44
Oct-2025	0.25
Nov-2025	0.71

Figure: CPI – Components

date	Category	YoY (%)
01/11/25	CPI.Alcohol_Tobacco_And_Narcotics	2.96
01/11/25	CPI.Apparel	1.49
01/11/25	CPI.Food	-2.78
01/11/25	CPI.Housing	2.95
01/11/25	CPI.Miscellaneous	5.64

Source: MOSPI

CPI.Food – India’s Food Inflation Remains Deflationary

Food inflation remained in deflationary territory in November 2025, easing to -2.78% from -3.72% in October. Vegetables (-22.2%) continue to witness sharp deflation. In addition, deflation persisted in Grains and Sugars/Spices. Among other components, edible oils showed moderating inflation while it picked up in Meat and Eggs. Inflation remained almost unchanged in Fruits and Dairy.

Figure: CPI.Food – A 3-year history

date	YoY (%)
Dec-2024	7.69
Jan-2025	5.68
Feb-2025	3.84
Mar-2025	2.88
Apr-2025	2.14
May-2025	1.5
Jun-2025	-0.15
Jul-2025	-0.84
Aug-2025	0.05
Sep-2025	-1.37
Oct-2025	-3.72
Nov-2025	-2.78

Source: MOSPI

Figure: CPI.Food – Components

date	Category	YoY (%)
CPI.Dairy	Nov-2025	2.45
CPI.Edible_Oils	Nov-2025	7.87
CPI.Eggs	Nov-2025	3.77
CPI.Fruits	Nov-2025	6.87
CPI.Grains	Nov-2025	-3.29
CPI.Meat	Nov-2025	4.0
CPI.Packaged_Food	Nov-2025	3.65
CPI.Poultry	Nov-2025	0.38
CPI.Seafood	Nov-2025	3.25
CPI.Sugars_And_Spices	Nov-2025	-1.23
CPI.Vegetables	Nov-2025	-22.2

Source: MOSPI

Core_CPI – India’s Core CPI Cools Slightly, Yet Inflation Remains Resilient

Core CPI inflation in November 2025 eased slightly to 4.62%, compared with 4.70% in October, indicating a modest moderation in underlying inflation pressures. Despite the sequential dip, core inflation remains elevated and broadly range-bound in the 4.4–4.7% band after peaking around 4.74% in mid-2025. This suggests continued resilience in non-food, non-energy prices even as headline CPI remains subdued.

Figure: Core_CPI – A 3-year history

Source: MOSPI

date	YoY (%)
Dec-2024	3.91
Jan-2025	4.0
Feb-2025	4.36
Mar-2025	4.44
Apr-2025	4.43
May-2025	4.56
Jun-2025	4.74
Jul-2025	4.41
Aug-2025	4.41
Sep-2025	4.59
Oct-2025	4.7
Nov-2025	4.62

Supercore_CPI –  India’s Supercore CPI Eases Slightly, Yet Remains Sticky

Supercore excludes housing-related components from Core CPI. Supercore CPI inflation eased to 5.12% in November 2025, compared with 5.22% in October, indicating a modest sequential moderation. A significant part of the inflation is due to inflation in precious metals like Gold and Silver..

Figure: Supercore_CPI – A 3-year history

Source: MOSPI

date	YoY (%)
Dec-2024	4.26
Jan-2025	4.35
Feb-2025	4.8
Mar-2025	4.86
Apr-2025	4.84
May-2025	4.98
Jun-2025	5.21
Jul-2025	4.78
Aug-2025	4.8
Sep-2025	5.06
Oct-2025	5.22
Nov-2025	5.12