The Central Government is expected to publish the Consumer Price Index (CPI) based retail inflation data for May 2026 at 4 pm on Friday, 12 June, 2026. Both retail wholesale inflation on the rise in India: CPI Inflation in India has started to rise of late due to the Iran war-led disruptions. The metric had edged higher to 3.48% in April, compared to 3.40% recorded in March. Wholesale inflation rose to a 3-year 6-month high of 8.30% in April Wholesale price inflation had jumped to a 42-month high of 8.30% in April from 3.88% in March. Inflation may touch RBI’s 4% target for 1st time in 16 months The inflation figures had remained below the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) target of 4% for the 15th straight month in April. And analysts place the inflation metric at par with the apex bank’s target of 4% in May 2026. Impact of Iran war on India’s inflation – What RBI said? The RBI in the recently held Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) June 2026 meet, had revised India’s FY27 inflation from 4.6% to 5.1%. Governor, Sanjay Malhotra had said that there were risks that inflation might rise in India due to high crude oil prices and probable weather disturbances because of El Nino. Crude oil prices had risen by 71% in between the Iran war from $70 a barrel to as high as $126 per barrel for a brief period. This is expected to have a cascading effect on prices of those commodities that are especially shipped from the Gulf countries. Eventually, May would be the seventh straight month of rise in the country’s inflation. Govt to roll out inflation data for 5th time under new base year series 2024 The May 2026 inflation data is going to be the fifth time that the MoSPI would release inflation figures under the new base year 2024. Till December 2025, the Centre had rolled out figures of the annual percentage rise in prices of goods and services based on the old base year series of 2012. India updated the base year for the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to 2024 from erstwhile 2012, with an aim to provide a more accurate measure of inflation based on current consumption patterns in the country. Govt now considers higher number of items to calculate inflation Under the new series 2024, the government increased number of items from 299 to 358 to calculate inflation. Examples of new items added to inflation basket: How inflation is calculated? Retail inflation is measured using the CPI, which tracks changes in prices of everyday items such as food, fuel and services. Inflation rises when demand outpaces supply and falls when supply exceeds demand. Post navigation 2 months of reserves of petrol diesel left’:Ample availability of fuel, reiterates India as Iran declares Strait of Hormuz closed
