India’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation likely rose to a 20-month high of 4.8% in August driven by higher food prices, according to an FE poll of 13 economists. A quicker increase in prices in August would mark the 10th consecutive month of rise in retail inflation. It would also be the third consecutive month inflation is higher than the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) medium-term target of 4%, increasing expectations of an interest rate hike in the second half of 2026-27, economists said.