Inflation pressures in India intensified across retail, wholesale and producer prices in August, driven by higher global oil prices and weather-related disruptions, the government said in its September Monthly Economic Review.

Consumer price inflation rose to 4.82% in August, while wholesale inflation accelerated to 9.92% and output producer price inflation increased to 9.81%. Food inflation was 5.95%, while core inflation rose to 4.16% from 3.86% in July.

The government said price pressures remained relatively contained across much of the basket, with about 69% of items recording inflation below the RBI’s 4% target. The share of items with inflation above 4% rose to about 31% in August from 29% in June.

Pressure was more visible at the wholesale level. Fuel and power inflation rose to nearly 23% in August from about 20% in July as global oil market pressures returned. Inflation in crude petroleum and natural gas was around 34%, while mineral oils recorded inflation of about 38%. Manufactured-product inflation remained around 8.4%.

Food prices also showed pockets of sharp inflation. Onion prices rose about 48% from a year earlier, garlic 43.6%, sugar 24.2% and ginger nearly 74%. Inflation in eggs was about 11% and chicken about 14%. Protein-rich and processed foods remained key contributors to food inflation, while the contribution from vegetables as a group has declined in recent months.

The review attributed some of the pressure in onions to unseasonal rain and hail in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh that damaged stored produce. Sugar prices were affected by lower sugarcane production, crop disease and firmer demand ahead of the festive season.

Price pressures are also emerging outside food and energy. The review said shortages of consumer-grade DRAM memory chips, as manufacturers prioritise higher-margin demand from AI data centres, were pushing up consumer electronics costs. The spot price of 1-gigabit DRAM chips was about 807% higher year-on-year as of September 18, according to data cited in the report.

Rural inflation was around 5% in August, higher than urban inflation of about 4%, reflecting the larger weight of food in rural consumption baskets, it said.

The government said growth appears to have moderated somewhat in the July-September quarter, although activity remains resilient. The government’s nowcast puts second-quarter real GDP growth at 7.3%. E-way bill growth and manufacturing activity slowed, but services strengthened in August, electricity and fuel demand remained firm, and bank credit continued to expand strongly, it said. Capital goods production and automobile sales also pointed to continued investment and consumption demand.

 The review said supply shocks in energy, food, metals, electronics and semiconductors remain a risk to both inflation and growth, with persistent price pressures potentially restraining economic activity.