India’s retail inflation, based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), escalated to a nine-month high of 5.49 per cent due to high food prices, data released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) showed on Monday. In August, CPI inflation came in at 3.65 per cent, marginally higher than 3.6 per cent the previous month. The previous high was recorded in December 2023 at 5.69 per cent. “It is likely that the increase in inflation rate for the month of September, 2024 is due to high base effect and weather conditions,” the government release said.