India October inflation tops RBI's 6% limit, strengthens case for rate hikes

India’s consumer inflation reached 6.09% in October, moving beyond the Reserve Bank of India’s 6% ceiling for the first time in the current data series, Business Recorder reported. The figure exceeded the 5.93% economists had forecast and followed a 5.54% reading in September. Inflation has also stayed above the RBI’s 4% medium-term goal for five months in a row.

Food costs were the main driver: food inflation climbed to 8.94% from 7.74%, with onions, garlic and ginger among the items that became costlier. The RBI raised its repo rate last month and forecasts inflation at 6% for October-December, while lifting its full-year estimate to 5.2% from 5%; lower Brent prices, near $92 a barrel, provide some counterweight to price pressures.