India’s consumer inflation eased to 0.25% in October, the lowest level since records began in 2012, according to government data released Wednesday.
The slowdown, from a revised 1.44% in September, was sharper than the 0.4% increase economists had forecast, driven by falling food prices and the impact of recent tax cuts.
With inflation now far below the Reserve Bank of India’s 4% target, analysts expect policymakers to begin cutting interest rates as early as December. Nomura projects a 25-basis-point rate cut this year and another in February, while Capital Economics expects the RBI’s benchmark rate to reach 5% by early 2026.