Retail inflation in October rose to 5.25% as compared to September’s 4.41%, reported PTI. Rising for the third successive month, retail inflation climbed due to costlier pulses and other food items. Data released by the Central Statistics Office showed that industrial production also grew at a slightly slower rate of 3.6% in September, mostly due to slower expansion in the mining sector. The higher rates of inflation are mostly due to the staggering rise in prices of pulses, which rose 42.2% in October.

The Economic Times said that the higher demand of goods due to festival season also contributed to the rise in inflation. Analysts say once the price of pulses drops and festival season ends, inflation may moderate. The government has been forced to import pulses and onions to offset the impact of drought in the country.